'How lonely it was...': BCCI all but confirms Karun Nair's return to XI; India's final training session hints at line-up

Hindustan Times

a day ago

It wasn't just one, but a double assurance that all but confirmed Karun Nair's return to India's playing XI after nearly eight years. The middle-order batter is set to play his first match for India since the 2017 Dharamsala Test against Australia, in the upcoming five-match series against England starting June 20 at Headingley.
First, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video on Nair with a "special message" from teammate KL Rahul. The video was captioned: "A comeback story with Karun Nair. P.S. - A special message from KL Rahul."
In the clip, Rahul welcomed his former Karnataka teammate with a heartwarming message, in which he opened up about how he prepared himself for the series against England.
"I've known him for a very long time and the months that he spent here in the UK playing cricket and how hard and how lonely it was and for him to be able to do all of that and come back into the Indian team. think it's special for him, for his family, and for friends like us who've seen his journey. So, like I said very inspiring as well and hopefully his experience and his learnings from playing county cricket here will hold him in good stead when he plays the Test matches here," he said.
Nair played just six Test matches for India, following his debut in 2016, scoring 374 runs at 62.33, which includes a career-best knock of 303. The veteran batter, who earned his selection this time on the back of a record Ranji season, vindicated the call with a double century in the first match for India A earlier this month, followed by scores of 40 and 15 in the second game.
"Feels really special. Very grateful and very fortunate to be able to get this opportunity again and really looking forward and excited to grab this opportunity with both hands," said Nair. "Not sure actually! I think I'll have to experience that feeling myself and, you know, just go out there and feel it for myself. And I'm sure there'll be a lot of feelings, ones that I can't express right now and It'll be a special feeling."
With the BCCI clip almost confirming Nair's return, fans could not keep calm as they thanked the Indian board for acting on the senior batter's three-year-old appeal. In 2022, Nair had taken to social media to post, 'Dear cricket, give me one more chance.'
A post shared by Team India (@indiancricketteam)
If it wasn't just the BCCI clip, India's final training session before the intra-squad match in Beckenham hinted at the possible batting line-up for the series against England. India did a bit of fielding practice on Thursday, with Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper, while the slip cordon featured Karun Nair at first slip, followed by KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, according to a report in RevSportz.
Nair is set for a return if the team goes by the slip cordon. Although his batting position is yet to be seen, with few experts reckoning he could replace Virat Kohli, who retired from Test cricket last month, at No. 4.