Karun Nair equals record-feat in Vijay Hazare in bid to revive India career-OxBig News Network

Vidarbha captain Karun Nair is batting like a dream in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. Nair, who was famously snubbed from the Indian Test team back in 2016 despite scoring a triple hundred in his debut series, has made it his life’s mission to get back into the national team.

The batter has already scored 5 hundreds in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, equalling the record of Narayan Jagadeesan in the tournament. Nair, currently 33 years of age has scores of 112*, 44, 163*, 111*, 112 and 122* in the tournament. Nair’s terrific form has helped Vidarbha all their games by a decent margin, helping them to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

Recently in an interview with the Indian Express, Nair opened up on the tough phase of his career when he was dropped from Karnataka side. Nair said that he was lucky to get a second chance in Vidarbha and knew that he had to score a truckload of runs to make his place permanent in the team.

“For six-seven months, when I didn’t play any cricket, all I did was travel three hours a day just to have a net session. I had no other option. I wasn’t considered for any format and I was really emotional at that point of time. I had to move on and work on myself. Moving on wasn’t easy, I needed a couple of months to get over it and then start practicing my skills and mindset. I would say, I was just preparing myself so that when I got another opportunity, I was not going to give anyone an excuse to drop me. For that, I needed to score runs and be consistent. So I just worked hard to get that back in my game,” Karun Nair said on the sidelines of Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Nair had expressed his wish to return to the Indian side in 2024. “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 had stated with conviction.

HOW TEAM INDIA FORGOT KARUN NAIR

Karun Nair’s career with the Indian national cricket team is a tale of remarkable achievements and puzzling setbacks, particularly highlighted by his dramatic rise and fall following his historic triple century.

Nair made his international debut in 2016, starting with his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in June of that year. However, his ODI career was short-lived, as he managed only 7 and 39 runs in his first two matches and failed to secure a regular place in the ODI team.

His Test debut came later in 2016 against England at Mohali, and it was in the final Test of this series that Nair achieved what many thought would be a career-defining milestone. On December 19, 2016, at Chennai, Nair scored 303*, becoming the second Indian batsman after Virender Sehwag to score a triple century in Test cricket. This feat also made him the third international player to convert his maiden Test century into a triple century, a rare achievement in the history of the game.

Despite this extraordinary performance, Nair’s stay in the national team was brief. He was inexplicably dropped for the next Test against Bangladesh in February 2017, with Ajinkya Rahane returning to the team. This decision marked the beginning of Nair’s struggles to regain his place in the Test squad. He warmed the benches for several matches, including the series against Australia, and when he did get chances, he failed to impress, scoring only 53 runs in the entire series.

Nair’s last Test appearance was in March 2017 against Australia in Dharamshala. His inability to convert starts into significant scores and the presence of other talented batsmen like Hanuma Vihari further pushed him out of the team. The selectors and team management opted for a different lineup, preferring players who could offer more versatility, such as Vihari’s off-break bowling skills.

The chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, later explained that Nair was informed about the reasons for his exclusion, emphasising the need for a balanced team composition. However, Nair himself has expressed that there was a lack of clear communication from the team management and selectors regarding his role and future in the team.