In December of 2016, Karun Nair was living the dream. Although he couldn’t make a mark on his India Test debut, just two matches later, he’d scored an unbeaten triple century. To put things into context, only 29 batters have been able to get the milestone. We are talking about 148 years of Test cricket.
Nair was one of them. Only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag. To think that 9 years later, Nair would have played just 10 Test matches would have seemed like a joke then. But that’s exactly what happened. He played three more Test matches before being dropped, as he made just 54 runs in four innings.
Nair was selected for the 2018 Test tour in England but remained on the bench throughout the Test series. In fact, for the last match, Hanuma Vihari was flown from India and handed his Test debut despite Nair waiting. The batter took 4 years to recover from his emotional blow.
Karun Nair on his Test comeback dream coming true
In the 2022-23 season, Nair was even dropped from Karnataka’s team. Everything had gone awry. With nothing going his way, Nair switches teams. The move turned out to be the best decision he could’ve taken. After blockbuster performances and the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Nair was given a chance again.
He had been hoping for this moment for years. And how poetic that it’ll be England again. The country where he was last part of India’s Test team is where he’d eventually make his comeback. In an exclusive interview with InsideSport, Nair shared what the moment meant to him.
“It was an amazing feeling, a proud moment to get back to the dressing room and wear those whites again. It’s something I have dreamt of for the last few years. To have that happen was an amazing feeling and something that I’ll always cherish,” Nair told InsideSport.
Much-needed support
One of the reasons why Nair took so long to return was the mishandling by the coach and captain back then. After keeping him on the bench for four matches, they brought someone new instead of playing him. Nair didn’t fault them for whatever happened in 2018 but just thanked his teammates and management for backing him this time around.
“The way that the team welcomed me (was special). They always stood by me, supported me throughout the series, and gave me the confidence that I needed,” Nair added.
