33-year-old batsman Karun Nair has made a comeback in the India National Cricket Team after 8-Plus years in the ongoing Test series against the England National Cricket Team.
Karun Nair has joined the choice of Jaydev Unadkat and Dinesh Karthik in a unique list, with playing XI in India at the Test series opener against England in Headingley in Leeds on Friday, 20 June.
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Karun Nair plays XI after 3006 days in India
The BCCI Selection Committee left Nair from the Test side after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2017 against the Australia National Cricket Team at home.
After the ax, he was unable to stage a quick comeback in the Indian team and was constantly ignored by the selectors, with several conclusions that he would never donate to the test jersey again.
However, Nair showed great patience and determination and went on a piece in domestic cricket. He continuously scored runs in formats in domestic cricket and caught the eyes of the selectors.
In the 2024–25 range season, he scored 863 runs in nine matches for Vidarbha and on an average an average of 54 helped his team win his third Ranji Trophy title. Following his impressive performances, he also received an IPL deal, and he initially performed well for the Delhi Capital (DC).
Nair’s efforts did not go in vain and finally he was paid when he remembered an India for the Test series in England. Not only did he return to the squad, but he also met the Playty XI for the Test series opener against the Ben Stokes -led side.
He returned to the Test team after 3006 days (8 years 86 days), one of the longest gaps between two test appearances. Nair recalled a total of 77 Test matches in the midst of two appearances for India and joined Jaydev Unesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel, who joined the unique list of players who missed 70 or more matches between two appearances.
Most of the tests missed between two appearances for India:
118 Jaydev Undkat (2010-22)
87 Dinesh Karthik (2010-18)
83 Parthiv Patel (2008-16)
77 Karun Nair (2017-25)*
56 Abhinav Mukund (2011-17)
The longest gap between 2 test appearances of Indian players who created their first post 2000:
Jaydev unadkat- 12 years 2 days
Dinesh Karthik – 8 years 144 days
Parthiv Patel – 8 years 107 days
Karun Nair – 8 years 86 days*
I try to keep it very simple, always think of positive – Karun Nair
Speaking in front of his debut, Karun Nair said that he keeps things very simple and remains positive.
“I try to keep it very simple, always think of positive, take some goals in mind, imagine things and have real faith in what you imagine. Playing with Rahul and Prasad is also a very comfortable factor. We have played cricket for so many years because maybe we were young children and grown together,” Karun posted in a video in a video.
“Life has come a full cycle because I went out of the team in England and now I am coming back to the team in England. It is a little late and I embrace it. My first idea when I got up (after dropping) I wanted to play Test cricket, I want to play for India again.
He said, “Perhaps this is why I was going, I was hungry and driving force to train and practice every day. I had the goal of playing Test cricket again. Every day, every morning I was awake thinking what I should do to reach that goal,” he said.
