NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals’ crushing defeat to Punjab Kings on Saturday in IPL 2026 has brought Karun Nair back into the limelight, and not for the right reasons.
As Punjab completed a record chase of 265 in Delhi, Nair endured a difficult night that quickly went viral, with fans resurfacing his old emotional post: “Dear cricket, give me one more chance.”
The game-defining moment came when Nair dropped Shreyas Iyer twice in quick succession.The first failure came with Vipraj Nigam’s delivery in the 15th over, when a clear opportunity to bowl slipped through his fingers. Just four balls later, he failed again, this time on a Kuldeep Yadav error, allowing Iyer another save.
The impact was immediate and brutal. Iyer made the most of it, smashing 71 off 36 balls to guide the Punjab Kings to the most successful run chase in IPL history, reaching the target with seven balls to spare.
Earlier, the explosive knocks of Prabhsimran Singh (76 off 26) and Priyansh Arya (43 off 17) had already laid a scorching foundation with an opening stand of 126 runs.
For Nair, missed opportunities were costly, both on the scoreboard and emotionally. The 34-year-old appeared visibly shaken on the field, with cameras capturing his frustration as the game slipped away from Delhi Capitals.
The resurgence of his former position has added another layer to the narrative, highlighting the rollercoaster ride of a player who was once on the verge of disappearing.
Reflecting on that difficult phase of his career and that social media post in an interview with Daily Mail, Nair had recently said: “My wife said to me, what are you doing, but I told her this is how I feel? That was probably the most difficult moment of my life. This time, I felt like my world had ended. I had no idea what to do next.”