Karun Nair's journey from despair to redemption in cricket, showcasing resilience and determination in his comeback to Test cricket.

The Hindu

4 hours ago

'Dear cricket' took two and a half years to respond to Karun Nair's plaintive cry. Now, the 33-year-old's destiny lies in his own hands.
In December 2022, in the middle of the domestic first-class season in which he took no part, India's second Test triple-centurion took to Twitter (now X), pleading with 'dear cricket' to 'give me one more chance.'
A string of poor scores had led to his exclusion from the Karnataka team he had captained not long back and he appeared at the end of his tether, his unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in December 2016 a distant and painful memory despite the magnitude of that accomplishment.
Karun's triple-hundred came as a bolt from the blue. Not that he didn't have the skills or the ability – he had assiduously compiled a 14-and-a-half-hour 328 in the final of the Ranji Trophy against Tamil Nadu in March 2015, which Karnataka won by an innings – but it appeared dramatically, without warning. In his two previous Test innings, he had made 4 (run out after being sold a dummy by his captain Virat Kohli on debut in Mohali) and 13. There was no indication that a big one was coming.
At Chepauk, he positively filled his boots. India had already secured an invincible 3-0 lead when they hosted England in the last of five Tests. For the second game in a row, the visitors topped 400 (477) on batting first, and India had eased to 211 for three when Karun strode out to join his state-mate K.L. Rahul, opening the batting. In the aforementioned Ranji final, the two came.together at 84 for five – Rahul had retired hurt when the team was 16, and watched from the dressing-room as Lakshmipathi Balaji ripped out the top order – and put on 386, effectively slamming the door on Abhinav Mukund's side. Rahul's contribution in Karnataka's 762 was a mellifluous 188.
This time, the situation wasn't as dire but hey, this was a Test match. Never mind if the series had been won or lost, there was plenty at stake, for both batters. After smashing 158 against West Indies in July, Rahul's Test scores read 50, 28, 32, 38, 0, 10 and 24 – a few starts, but nothing substantial. As for Karun, his Test career had yet to take off.
The two men who had begun their representative cricketing journeys at almost the same time lived out a fairytale, adding 161 for the fourth wicket. Rahul eased to 199 when he lobbed leggie Adil Rashid to cover, exiting the ground in unconcealed disappointment. Karun wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, flaying England to the tune of 32 fours and four sixes while breezing to 303 off just 381 deliveries. Not quite in the Virender Sehwag league when it came to rate of scoring but suddenly, Sehwag's lonely existence in the 300-club had come to an end.
The lows
It ought to have been the beginning. In a way it was, but sadly, it was the beginning of the end, as callous as that might sound. Karun played three of India's next four Tests, against Australia in March 2017, 54 runs in four innings with a highest of 26 deemed enough of a sample size for him to be benched. Not even a triple-century three months ago bought him a lifeline. He was summarily discarded from the playing XI, and though he did travel to England in the summer of 2018 for a four-Test series, his cup of woe spilled over when mid-series reinforcement Hanuma Vihari was given a debut in the final Test at The Oval while Karun continued to ferry drinks and watch wistfully, balefully, from the sidelines.
For a professional sportsperson, the worst thing that can happen is not being dropped so much as not being told when one is not being considered. There were no clear lines of communication from the team management – Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri – and Karun's natural reserved nature in a group he really hadn't yet grown comfortable in led to unsubstantiated, mischievous whispers surrounding his 'attitude'. In Indian cricket more than in any other sphere, this is a stick of convenience used conveniently. Saddled with the 'attitude' tag, Karun found himself out of contention, the insecurity and confusion triggering a spectacular meltdown when he went 56 matches across formats without a century for Karnataka.
When the axe fell, to no one's surprise, Karun was distraught. Was he a victim of circumstances, a victim of the expressions he had triggered with two triple-centuries in 21 months (one of them in Test cricket) or his own self-doubts and lack of guidance? Was he let down by the ecosystem, or did he let himself down? His career at a crossroads, that's when he pleaded with 'dear cricket' for 'one more chance'.
But unless one helps themselves, no one else is going to, right? Karun didn't just sit on his backside, hoping for things to change on their own. He eventually decided to take matters into his own hands and embark on a journey of salvation. He told himself that he would give it his all in one last throw of the dice to redeem himself in his own eyes. And look at where that has got him today.
Karun's road to redemption first took him to England, and a three-match stint with Northamptonshire in Division 1 of the County Championship, in September 2023. He made 78 on debut against Warwickshire, topped it with 150 in the next outing at The Oval against Surrey and finished the season with 249 runs at an average of 83. On his return home, he shifted allegiance to Vidarbha, for whom he had two wonderful seasons; the first, which produced 690 runs, took his new team to the final while a few months back, he was the driving force behind their charge to the title, amassing 863 runs with four hundreds at 53.93.
Rich vein of form
Around the Ranji campaign, he hammered an unbelievable 779 runs in eight innings in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy where Vidarbha lost to Karnataka in the final. How do you overlook such consistency? How can such exceptional form be ignored, especially with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bidding goodbye to Test cricket? There is every likelihood that, even had these two gentlemen been around, Karun would have been in the Test squad to England. Their retirements made it a no-brainer.
Karun and England have had a mixed connection. It was against England that he made his Test debut and his triple, it was also in England that he suffered his worst period in the Indian dressing room in 2018. When he was pushed to a corner, he turned to England, its County Championship, and to Northants, for whom he scored more than 700 runs across two seasons in ten matches. Now, as he returns to the Test firmament after seven years, who should be in his crosshairs than England?
In an 18-strong party, Karun is the sole specialist middle-order batter. The rest – the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel – all fall in the all-rounder category. He should in all likelihood start the series at Headingley in less than a fortnight's time. Already, he has shown that he is well equipped to make a good thing count, unleashing 204 in the first 'Test' for India 'A' against the Lions last week and backing it up with 40 in the first innings of the second 'Test'. At 33, he is wiser, more experienced, has seen the ups and downs, is at the peak of his powers and is a leader in his own right.
As Shubman Gill embarks on an exciting new journey as a 25-year-old first-time Test captain, he can do with all the wisdom that is under his command – not just Jasprit Bumrah, Pant and Rahul, but also Karun, whose captaincy credentials are impressive. Karun will have to make his own runs, for sure, but his value to the side will extend beyond just runs. He is now a lot more confident of himself, his mind riddled of doubt and insecurity, and his maturity has manifested itself in more ways than one. If he believes it is his time now, it is not without good reason.
Huge opportunity
A five-Test series is a grand opportunity to showcase one's class and quality. Having waited this long for a second coming, Karun will hope the think-tank shows patience, empathy and understanding, qualities that he hasn't been at the receiving end of in the past. There will be attendant nerves whenever he returns to the Test fold, which is inevitable given the journey he has traversed in the eight years since last playing a match in India colours, in Dharamsala in March 2017. Karun has become quite adept at handling those nerves and of being in control of his emotions. There is a certain calmness and equanimity about him that indicates that he is at peace with himself, that he has shed the baggage of the past behind, and that he is optimistic about the gladder tidings that the future will bring.
In Karun's comeback is a tale of inspiration and gumption. The value of tenacity, bloody-mindedness, of persistence and determination, have been reiterated by his reintegration with Test cricket. But Karun is well aware that this is just the beginning of his second innings, so to say. A recall is a means to an end, not an end in itself. And therein lie the exciting possibilities.