“The silence of not being out there adds its own sting” - Karun Nair posts subtle message amid IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test; R Ashwin reacts

Batter Karun Nair came up with a subtle message amid the ongoing second Test between India and South Africa. The game is being played at Guwahati. India's struggles with the bat in the series have continued.

In reply to South Africa's first innings total of 489, the hosts are down to 174/7 after two sessions of play on the third day. Karun Nair regretted not being out on the field for India in such a situation.

"Some conditions carry a feel you know by heart — and the silence of not being out there adds its own sting," he wrote on X.

Karun Nair

@karun126

Some conditions carry a feel you know by heart — and the silence of not being out there adds its own sting.

Karun was picked for the away series in England and made a comeback after eight years, having last played in 2017. Coming back after a huge gap, he was not at his best, scoring 205 runs in eight innings. Nonetheless, he did show glimpses of his talent and got good starts that he failed to convert.

In the fifth Test that India won at The Oval to level the series, he even scored a crucial half-century in the first innings. However, he was dropped from the Test team after the England tour.

Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin cheekily reacted to Karun Nair's post.

"Adei😂," he wrote, replying to Karun's tweet.

Ashwin 🇮🇳

@ashwinravi99

Adei😂

In this tweet, “adei” means a casual term similar to saying “arey yaar or hey” in Hindi-English.

With India struggling to solve the number three conundrum in Test cricket at the moment, Karun could perhaps have been given a longer rope on his comeback, considering his experience.

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Karun Nair has been in terrific form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26

After being dropped post the England tour, Karun Nair returned to his state team, Karnataka, ahead of the 2025-26 domestic season. He previously played for Vidarbha in 2023-24 and 2024-25.

In the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season, the right-hander has shown terrific form so far. In five matches and seven innings, he has smashed 602 runs at an average of 100.33 with two hundreds and as many half-centuries.

This includes an unbeaten 174 against Goa and a double hundred (233) against Kerala. In his last innings against Chandigarh, he scored 95 runs as Karnataka won by an innings and 185 runs.

In 125 First-Class games, Karun has piled up 9277 runs at an average of 50.41 with 26 hundreds and 39 fifties. He has played 10 Tests and has 579 runs at an average of 41.35 with a hundred and a half-century.