I am confident in my ability and believe that I can play Test cricket again: Karun Nair

Karun Nair. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

Karun Nair made his last international appearance for India in March 2017 but the 32-year-old hasn’t lost hopes of staging a comeback in Test cricket, a format where he has a triple century under his belt.

The Jodhpur-born has grinded it out and scored heavily in the Ranji Trophy and the English county circuit in recent times to remind everyone about his batting prowess. For Northamptonshire in early 2023, Nair amassed 249 runs in three matches at an impressive average of 83, including a century against Surrey, the eventual champions. He continued churning out big runs later in the year as well, accumulating 487 runs from seven matches at an average of 49, with another century against Glamorgan.

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Nair asserted that his focus remains on trying to perform for his team in every game instead of looking too far ahead. The right-handed batter also spoke about how batting in challenging English conditions helped him get a better understanding of his game.

“You have to be prepared for the grind. It’s just about the next game. And I’m not looking too far into the future because sometimes you can get stuck in thinking about what’s going to happen,” Nair was quoted as saying by India Today.

“Playing in England, with its moving ball, was tough. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a batsman, finding ways to score runs and believing in myself,” he noted.

Nair failed to get consistent opportunities in the Karnataka side and he moved to Vidarbha last year to get more game time. Last season, he amassed 690 runs from 10 matches, including two centuries, being one of the key performers for Vidarbha during their run to the final.

“The opportunity to play in the Ranji Trophy was something I had missed for a year. I’m grateful to Vidarbha for giving me that chance. The season I missed taught me to value each game more, to practice harder, and to be smarter,” he reflected.

Nair scored a brilliant 303 against England in just his third Test match. However, he played only three more matches in the longest format of the game after that herculean effort. It has been seven years since he has donned the India whites but the elegant batter is confident in his ability to muster a comeback.

“Everyone plays this game to represent their country, and that’s my aim now — to play Test cricket again. I’m confident in my ability and believe I can achieve it,” he stated.

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Nair is currently leading Mysuru Warriors in the ongoing Maharaja Trophy 2024. He has led from the front and is the second in the list of leading run-getters in the tournament, having scored 490 runs from 10 games. The Warriors have already reached the semifinals of the T20 competition.