India Test squad: Karun Nair returns from oblivion mentally tougher | Cricket News – Times of India

BENGALURU: Karun Nair and England. It’s laborious to overlook the center-order batter’s reference to the nation. A Test profession which held a lot promise began in opposition to England in Mohali throughout the 2016 house collection.It additionally got here to an abrupt halt in England. In a interval of six months, the now 33-yr-outdated performed six Tests, scoring 374 runs together with a momentous unbeaten 303, additionally in opposition to England in Chennai.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Indian selectors’ choices are generally baffling, the unceremonious dropping of Nair being one of them. After a reasonably forgettable house collection in opposition to Australia in 2017, wherein he scored 54 runs in three innings, the decision-up for the English summer time sojourn in 2018 gave Nair a chance to stake declare to a center-order slot. But, Hanuma Vihari, who made it to England halfway by means of the collection as an harm reinforcement, was handed a debut within the last Test on the Oval, whereas Nair was ignored.Who’s that IPL participant?Back in his house state Karnataka, his lack of numbers and correct steering noticed him go with no century for 56 home matches throughout codecs. He went from being the captain to warming the bench. This prompted the proficient batter to maneuver to Vidarbha.

In Dec 2022, Nair’s social media submit, “Dear cricket, give me one more chance”, went viral. While Nair made the plea, he left nothing to probability. Throughout his profession, Nair has banked closely on laborious work and waited patiently for them to bear fruit. Nair’s comeback path started in the summertime of 2023 and in England, no much less!Turning up for Northamptonshire within the county championship division one in 2023, he served a reminder of his proficiency, scoring 249 in three matches, which included a 144* in opposition to Surrey. The following yr, he upped the ante with an unbeaten double century (202*) in opposition to Glamorgan. He carried again the shape from England. In the 2024-25 home season, his prolific run included 863 runs in 9 Ranji Trophy matches with 4 centuries, whereas 5 a whole bunch highlighted the 779 runs he scored in eight Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day outings.

The years away from the highlight have modified Nair as an individual and cricketer. Mentally tougher, bodily fitter and recreation-clever extra mature, cricket hasn’t simply given him an opportunity, he has earned his place.