IPL 2023: Karun Nair gets ‘one chance’ as LSG rope in Karnataka veteran as Injured Rahul’s replacement
Lucknow Super Giants’ campaign in the IPL 2023 suffered a huge blow on Friday as their skipper KL Rahul was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament owing to an injury he incurred in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. LSG later on the same day announced his replacement, a former RCB star, Karun Nair. Nair joins LSG for Rs 50 lakh.
Nair is an experienced hand in the IPL, and has scored 1496 runs in 76 IPL games over the years, turning out for Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals and RCB. Nair and Rahul have been longtime colleagues in the Karnataka side in India’s domestic circuit.
LSG gives Karun Nair “One Chance” in IPL 2023
“Dear Cricket, give me one more chance,” Karun Nair has finally got his once chance to shine once again.
Later on the same day, they shared Nair’s viral tweet from December to announce his name as Rahul’s replacement for the season. Nair, India’s second triple centurion in Test cricket, had tweeted: “Dear cricket, give me one more chance”, after incurring a Ranji Trophy snub.
LSG are currently in second place on the IPL points table, with five wins from ten games. Their push for a second straight playoff appearance will now be spearheaded by Krunal Pandya, who takes over the captaincy on an interim basis. He has already led the team in one game, against Chennai Super Kings, although it was washed out.
This is the second major injury Rahul’s had in two years following a sports hernia in 2022 for which he needed surgery.
“The last few days have been really hard, but I’m determined to come out on top,” Rahul’s post said. “Injuries are never easy, but I’ll give it my all as always. Thank you for all the support and good wishes.”
Rahul’s career has had a rough time in recent times. India took away his vice-captaincy and dropped him from their Test XI after the first two Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches in February 2023. And he hasn’t played a T20I for them in almost a year. It’s only in 50-overs cricket that he commands a spot in the team, where he also doubles up as their wicketkeeper. All of this was reflected in his moving down from Grade A to B when the BCCI handed out central contracts two months ago.
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