Ranji Trophy Final 2025: Karun Nair scores gritty ton against Kerala, his celebration goes viral

India and Vidarbha batter Karun Nair dropped a sparky celebration after completing his brilliant century in the Ranji Trophy final against Kerala, prompting speculation on whether his gesture was directed at the India selectors, reminding them of his calibre and current form. Nair’s outstanding knock marked his ninth century of the domestic season, further highlighting his red-hot streak as he continues to get overlooked for a national call-up.

Facing his home state Kerala, Nair displayed remarkable composure and class, reaching his century off 184 balls. His knock included seven boundaries and two sixes, played a crucial role in extending Vidarbha’s lead to 227, with the team reaching 190 for 3 in response to Kerala’s first-innings total of 342. 

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Deep Connection With Kerala 

Nair has a deep connection with Kerala. He was born in Rajasthan but his parents, Kaladharan and Prema Nair, hail from Kerala. Nair started his career as a Karnataka cricketer after his family moved to Bengaluru for his father’s job. He spent almost a decade playing for Karnataka when, in August 2023, he was dropped across formats and chose to move.

💯 for Karun Nair 👏

A splendid knock on the big stage under pressure 💪

It's his 9⃣th 1⃣0⃣0⃣ in all formats combined this season, and the celebration says it all👌🙌#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank | #Final

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/up5GVaflpp pic.twitter.com/9MvZSHKKMY

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) March 1, 2025

Phenomenal Run During Vijay Hazare Trophy 

Nair finished the Vijay Hazare Trophy as the tournament's highest run-scorer, amassing 779 runs in just eight innings at a staggering average of 389.50 and an impressive strike rate of 124.04. His tally included five centuries and a fifty, putting him in the spotlight as one of the most in-form batters in domestic cricket. Karun now has scored 9 centuries all formats combined this season of 2024-25.

Life of Karun Nair is a perfect example of a pendulum. After becoming only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to score a 300 in tests, Karun was also termed as the next big thing. But a string of inconsistent performances in the following three Tests against Australia during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2017 saw Karun lose his place in the Indian Test team. 

Will the rich vein of form in domestic cricket give Karun Nair an Indian call-up, only time will tell.