IND v ENG series: How Karun Nair scripted a comeback story for the ages

The longest gap between two Test matches for an Indian cricketer in modern times has been that of left-arm paceman Jaydev Unadkat – a hiatus of 12 years. Karun Nair may not quite be up there, with an eight-year gap between his last Test at home in 2017 and the opening Test against England in Leeds on Friday, 20 June, but his fairytale comeback has been one of the biggest talking points in Indian cricket in recent months.

The 33-year-old middle-order batter from Karnataka implored 'Dear cricket', in an emotional tweet in the winter of 2022, to give him one more chance — and the post took on a life of its own.

When the heartening news came at the end of May that Nair had finally made the cut in the 18-member squad to England, the emotions must have been mixed — the news almost coincided with news of his mother taking seriously ill.

Then in the thick of the IPL campaign with the Delhi Capitals, he rushed back to his hometown Bengaluru before rejoining the squad to complete his engagements.

Setting foot in England as part of the Indian A-squad, Nair continued his love affair with red-ball cricket — he was at his fluent best, rustling up a marathon 204 against the England Lions in the first unofficial Test. The bowling attack at Canterbury may not have been top quality, but Nair displayed the virtues of having played county cricket over the last two seasons in an innings laced with 26 fours, though only 1 six.

‘’Hi, I am Karun Nair, and I’m ready to go,’’ said the soft-spoken batter in a comeback video released by the BCCI.

It’s hard to ignore the underlying theme of poetic justice, as, believe it or not, Nair’s last association with the Indian team was during their 2018 tour of England — when he didn’t get a look-in. It’s been eight years since then — a period during which Nair has almost become a forgotten man in Indian cricket... until he scripted his resurrection with a little help from his adopted state Vidarbha over the last two seasons.

Talk of a possible international return to the white-ball set-up cropped up in January, when in the 50-overs Vijay Hazare Trophy, Vidarbha captain Nair proved to be a veritable run machine, piling up 542 runs without getting dismissed – a world record in List A cricket for going unconquered for the most number of runs.

Throwing some light on his plans during a chat with National Herald at the time, he was quite categoric about what he wanted, though: ‘’I want to play Test matches again and I am trying to find ways to do that.’’

“I played county cricket over the last couple of years and enjoyed it thoroughly, and my mindset now is to score runs from as many opportunities as I can,” he added.

The county stint is something which Nair took like a fish to water. On arrival at The Oval, he struck a career-reviving 150 in only his second county Division I game for Northamptonshire. The stint paved the way for a call-in as a guest player with Vidarbha in 2023–24, popping his red-ball credentials back into the national picture.

A total of 1,553 runs in 33 innings, including his career-best Ranji Trophy season with 883 runs and culminating in a title win for Vidarbha this season, pushed his case further at an hour when India was looking for some welcome stability in the team, after the exit of both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Nair will, of course, be missing at the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s (VCA) felicitation of teams in Nagpur on Saturday, 21 June. There is also talk of him seeking a transfer from his adopted state to Karnataka once again — but the Ranji champion state’s role in resuscitating his international career will remain one for the ages!