IPL playerIndia2013 to 2026
Karun Nair
On scorecards: KK Nair · Right-hand bat
Karun Nair, a batter, has played eleven IPL seasons for four franchises. In eleven seasons the title has not yet come.
The arrival
Karun Nair's first IPL season was 2013, with Royal Challengers Bangalore, a signing made outside the auction.
That first season brought 2 matches and 9 runs. The best was still to come.
The peak
The high point with the bat was 2016, for Delhi Daredevils: 357 runs at an average of 35.7, striking at 120.2 in a season when the league as a whole struck at 131.5, with 3 fifties, and a highest score of 83 not out.
Measured against the league around it, though, the most destructive season was 2025: 198 runs at a strike rate of 172.2, 19 runs per hundred balls quicker than the IPL as a whole that year.
Franchise by franchise
2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore. 2 matches and 9 runs.
2014 to 2015, Rajasthan Royals. Bought at the 2014 auction for ₹75 lakh. 25 matches and 511 runs.
2016 to 2017, Delhi Daredevils. Bought at the 2016 auction for ₹4 cr. 28 matches and 638 runs.
2018 to 2020, Kings XI Punjab. Bought at the 2018 auction for ₹5.60 cr. 18 matches and 322 runs.
2022, Rajasthan Royals, second time round. Bought at the 2022 auction for ₹1.40 cr. 3 matches and 16 runs.
2025 to 2026, Delhi Capitals, second time round. Bought at the 2025 auction for ₹50 lakh. 10 matches and 216 runs.
6 spells with four franchises in all. The longest was with Kings XI Punjab, 2018 to 2020. 2021, 2023 and 2024 are missing from the record: seasons without an IPL appearance.
How the runs came
Across the career, Karun Nair has struck at 131.3. The league around those same seasons, weighted by how much batting each one involved, struck at 134.8, so Karun Nair has scored about 4 runs per hundred balls slower than the typical batter of the time, a trade usually made for longer innings. 61% of the runs came in fours and sixes: 188 fours and 49 sixes.
The ball-by-ball record adds the detail. 38.4% of the balls Karun Nair faced were dot balls, a higher share than 74% of the 140 batters who have faced 500 balls or more in the IPL. A six came every 26.6 balls, and a four every 6.9.
The fielding record: 29 catches and 9 run-outs.
At the auction
Karun Nair has gone under the hammer eight times, bought six times and left unsold twice. The highest price was ₹5.60 cr, paid by Kings XI Punjab in 2018, more than 11 times the base price. Unsold in 2023, Karun Nair was bought again in 2025 by Delhi Capitals. Being bought did not always mean playing: no match followed for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2021.
Seasons without an auction entry were played under a retention, a trade or a signing made outside the auction.
Where it stands
Karun Nair has made 86 IPL appearances, the latest for Delhi Capitals in 2026, and has won 3 player-of-the-match awards.
Season by season
| Season | Team | M | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 50/100 | Wkts | Econ | Best | Ct | POTM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2 | 9 | 9 | 4.5 | 75.0 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 0 | ||
| 2014 | Rajasthan Royals | 11 | 330 | 73* | 33.0 | 142.2 | 3/0 | – | – | – | 4 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Rajasthan Royals | 14 | 181 | 61 | 16.5 | 124.8 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 3 | ||
| 2016 | Delhi Daredevils | 14 | 357 | 83* | 35.7 | 120.2 | 3/0 | – | – | – | 3 | 1 | |
| 2017 | Delhi Daredevils | 14 | 281 | 64 | 21.6 | 124.3 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Kings XI Punjab | 13 | 301 | 54 | 25.1 | 136.2 | 2/0 | – | – | – | 9 | ||
| 2019 | Kings XI Punjab | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5.0 | 83.3 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 3 | ||
| 2020 | Kings XI Punjab | 4 | 16 | 15* | 8.0 | 114.3 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 2022 | Rajasthan Royals | 3 | 16 | 13 | 8.0 | 88.9 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 1 | ||
| 2025 | Delhi Capitals | 8 | 198 | 89 | 24.8 | 172.2 | 1/0 | – | – | – | 2 | ||
| 2026 | Delhi Capitals | 2 | 18 | 13 | 9.0 | 100.0 | 0/0 | – | – | – | 1 |
Franchise journey
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: 2013
- Rajasthan Royals: 2014 to 2015
- Delhi Daredevils: 2016 to 2017
- Kings XI Punjab: 2018 to 2020
- Rajasthan Royals: 2022
- Delhi Capitals: 2025 to 2026
Ball-by-ball detail
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Dot balls faced | 38.4% |
| Balls per four | 6.9 |
| Balls per six | 26.6 |
| Catches | 29 |
| Run-outs | 9 |
| Stumpings | 0 |
At the auction
| Auction | Set | Base price | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | UBA2 | ₹10 lakh | Sold to Rajasthan Royals for ₹75 lakh |
| 2016 | – | ₹10 lakh | Sold to Delhi Daredevils for ₹4 cr |
| 2018 | BA1 | ₹50 lakh | Sold to Kings XI Punjab for ₹5.60 cr |
| 2021 | UBA2 | ₹50 lakh | Sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for ₹50 lakh |
| 2022 | – | ₹50 lakh | Sold to Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.40 cr |
| 2023 | BA3 | ₹50 lakh | Unsold |
| 2024 | BA1 | ₹50 lakh | Unsold |
| 2025 | UBA1 | ₹30 lakh | Sold to Delhi Capitals for ₹50 lakh |
Sources
- CricArcade IPL season statistics
- CricArcade IPL auction archive
- Kaggle IPL Complete Match Dataset 2008-2026, ball-by-ball, cross-checked against Cricsheet