Karun Nair chuckles at the foretelling of a lighthearted joke from a podcast he participated in in September 2024. Former Karnataka teammate Robin Uthappa had inquired as to what more Nair needed to do to gain recognition.
After spending the summer in England with Northamptonshire, Nair had just returned. He had amassed 487 runs in 11 innings, with a top of 202 not out. His exclusion from the BCCI’s season-opening Duleep Trophy devastated him.
In his previous six innings, Karun Nair has amassed scores of 122, 112, 111, 163, 44, and 112. Nair set a new List A record of 542 runs without getting dismissed, surpassing former New Zealand all-rounder James Franklin, before the team removed him after he scored 112 against Uttar Pradesh. Vidarbha has advanced to the semi-finals because to this incredible run, in which Karun Nair has been instrumental as both captain and hitter.
“At the beginning of the Ranji season, I couldn’t stop thinking about the chances I lost when I failed to convert some of my starts. However, I had entirely forgotten about it until the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but I have continued to play and have continued to score hundreds.”
After becoming India’s second triple-centurion in Test cricket, Nair’s decline was somewhat abrupt. He lost favor with the selectors from his home state of Karnataka in addition to dropping out of the national race. His return started in the DY Patil tournament in early 2023, after he had been without a team for almost a year.
He was able to locate a new squad in Vidarbha thanks to a conversation he had with former India bowler Abey Kuruvilla during the competition. Nair’s relationship with Kuruvilla, who was the India Under-19 selector as he was rising through the ranks, proved beneficial.
After playing at Burbage & ER Cricket Club in East Wiltshire in the minor counties, where he amassed two hundreds and a half-centuries in eight innings, Karun Nair joined Vidarbha ahead of the 2023–24 season. Nair just wanted any game time he could get, even though it was a step down.
Karun Nair recalls the hardships of those dark days and the moment when he longed to just get bat on ball after waiting at home for over seven months, unsure of where his next opportunity would come from, as he looks back on his runs and form, which he characterizes as “surreal and humbling.”
“I think, quite honestly, it’s even amazing to myself also to look at the results that are coming about currently,” he continues. However, I would say that my entire concentration is on savoring every second and being present throughout that specific game. I’m playing that game as if it were the most significant phase of my career, and I’m not thinking about the past or the future.
“I don’t think I’ve ever considered the fact that I have so many runs to play whatever I choose in these six games. Yes, I would be lying if I claimed not to have thought about the difficult times, but I have been able to control my thoughts and sort of restrain myself by telling myself that the team needs me and that I must be there until the very end to ensure that I don’t cross the line.
After going unsold at the last auction, Nair has also found a new home in the IPL with the Delhi Capitals, a team he captained for a very short time. Karun Nair claims that the difficult days are past. He compares it to realizing that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Runs and records of this size have inevitably drawn a lot of attention. Nair’s two county seasons at Northants and his performances in the Ranji Trophy may keep him in the spotlight as India prepares to play England later this summer.
Nearly seven years after selectors left him out despite his entire summer spent in England in the reserves, Karun Nair laughs at the possibility of a potential return.
However, I’m not sure, but my mentality, how I approach things, and how I feel about my game are all different. I simply wake up every day feeling different.
“I’m only attempting to refocus my attention on performing well and winning games for my team. In essence, that’s all I’m thinking about right now, which is kind of the appropriate thing to do. To be quite honest, I have no idea how close I am to making the national squad. I want to approach things one game at a time, like I mentioned before. However, I’m not sure.”
Nair is aware that he has recovered his propensity to hit hundreds of runs, which he describes as “the only currency in cricket I heard growing up.” Now, let’s hope Vidarbha has a trophy-winning season to cap it all off.
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