Karun Nair replaces injured KL Rahul at Lucknow Super Giants

Lucknow Super Giants have drafted in Karun Nair as a replacement for KL Rahul for the remainder of IPL 2023. Nair comes on board for INR 50 lakh.

Rahul, the LSG captain, was ruled out of the IPL as well as India's World Test Championship final against Australia in early June after picking up a thigh injury while fielding in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1.

Nair 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. LSG will be the third franchise he will play for in three seasons.

Nair is among the more experienced India players who went unsold at the auction, having not played any form of professional cricket during the 2022-23 season after being dropped from the Karnataka squad altogether. He was earlier in consideration to be drafted into the RCB squad as a replacement for David Willey, but they eventually picked Kedar Jadhav.

Nair and Rahul have been longtime colleagues in the Karnataka side in India's domestic circuit.

"Absolutely gutted," Rahul wrote in an Instagram post on Friday morning as he announced that he would be out of action for the coming few months.

"My focus will be on my rehabilitation and recovery in the coming weeks," Rahul's post said. "It's a tough call to make, but I know it's the right one to ensure a full recovery."

Rahul tore a tendon in his right thigh while chasing a ball in the second over of their match against RCB. He had to be helped off the field at that point, and did not return until a chase of 127 got tense. He walked out to bat at No. 11 in the hope of winning the game. But he was unable to run between the wickets, which resulted in the No. 9 Amit Mishra facing the last over. LSG eventually lost by 18 runs.

"As the team captain, it pains me deeply not to be able to be there during this crucial period," Rahul wrote. "But, I'm confident that the boys will rise to the occasion and give their best performance as always."

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," his 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.