Harsh Dubey says Vidarbha feel no void after Karun Nair’s return to Karnataka as the Ranji champions start their 2025-26 campaign strong.
Vidarbha’s dominance in red-ball cricket has shown no signs of slowing down even after the departure of India batter Karun Nair. The reigning Ranji Trophy champions, who recently clinched the Irani Cup 2025, began their title defence against Nagaland in Bengaluru.
Vidarbha have been the most consistent red-ball team over the past decade, winning Ranji Trophy titles in 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2024-25 and Irani Cup three times, including this season.
Harsh Dubey, the left-arm spinner, who has been central to Vidarbha’s strong red-ball campaigns over the last two seasons, claimed that the team has not felt any void despite Karun Nair’s switch back to Karnataka following a record-breaking season across formats last year. Notably, Dubey’s 69 wickets in a single Ranji Trophy season last year were the most for any bowler in the competition’s history.
Nair was instrumental in Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy triumph, amassing 863 runs in nine matches, averaging 49.59, with four hundreds and two fifties, the fourth most runs. He carried the form across formats; he topped the VHT 2024-25 charts with 779 runs in eight games at an astounding average of 389.50, featuring five hundreds and a fifty, remaining unbeaten on as many as eight occasions as Vidarbha ended runner-up. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), he added 255 runs in six innings, striking at 177.08. His stupendous performance earned him a Test comeback after eight years, featuring in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. However, his homecoming to Karnataka hasn’t rattled Vidarbha’s plans, Dubey insisted.
Dubey pointed to Vidarbha’s recent Irani Cup win — achieved without both Nair and newly signed professional R Samarth, who has made the switch from Uttarakhand.
“I read this in another place that if Karun Nair is not here, how will Vidarbha win Irani Trophy?,” Dubey said on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai. “We won the Irani Trophy. We won without Karun Nair, and even Samarth didn’t even play this time. So it’s not that if a player leaves, it will leave a gap. I think we have enough good players, and even if we don’t have professionals, we can still do well. But yes, having a professional is an additional benefit because they bring experience with them, and you get to learn new things many times. I don’t think if anyone leaves Vidarbha, there will be a gap.”
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Making a comeback after eight years, Nair would have hoped for a series full of runs. However, the Karnataka batter endured an underwhelming England series, managing just 205 runs in five matches at a subpar 25.62 with only one fifty. Adding to the concerns, he sustained a finger injury in the last Test, which saw him missing the KSCA Maharaja T20 Trophy, Duleep Trophy, and was only declared fit after the selection committee had already announced the India A squad for the Australia A series at home.
However, Nair was hopeful for the selection for the two-match Test series at home. Announcing India’s squad for the series, Chief selector Ajit Agarkar asserted that they expected more from the veteran right-hander, who got opportunities at No.3 and No.6.
“We expected more from Karun Nair in England. It cannot be about just one innings. We want to give at least 15-20 chances to every player, but it is not possible every time,” Agarkar said.
Vidarbha are taking on Nagaland in their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 campaign opener in Bengaluru. Asked to bat first, Aman Mokhade’s century and fifties from Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod have put Vidarbha in the driver’s seat, ending the day at 302/3. Notably, they are in a tough Elite Group A alongside Jharkhand, Andhra, Baroda, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Nagaland.
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