The batter Karun Nair who has appeared in Six Tests and two ODIs for India so far, has eyed on a comeback to the test cricket.
Having not played for Team India for seven years, Nair is not looking too far ahead and wants to relaunch his stagnant career by taking a step at a time.
The 32-year-old batter has been collecting runs for Vidarbha in India’s domestic circuit and Northamptonshire in English Cricket County.
Nair wants to keep up the good work and utilize every opportunity that comes his way. “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,” Karun told PTI.
“I’ve scored a lot of runs in the last year in all formats. I’ve just been trying to continue doing what I’ve been doing the last year on every given opportunity…taking every opportunity as a new day,” he added.
These are not mind-blowing numbers, but good enough to stir confidence in the batsman who was struggling to find some purpose in his craft.
“You are playing with a different ball there – literally. Everyone knows for Indian batsmen to go and score runs in England…to play the moving ball is tough. So, I’ve learnt a lot more about myself as a batsman finding ways to score runs and believing in yourself.
“There are so many things that I’ve learned in England that, you know, maybe I had it in me but I didn’t realize all this while,” he noted.
He played for Vidarbha from Karnataka during the Ranji Trophy 2024, and it came to come at the right time for him.
He scored 690 runs from 10 matches with two hundreds, helping his side to reach the Ranji Trophy semifinals.
“First of all, it’s the opportunity to play in the Ranji Trophy cricket, which I missed out for a year for reasons that I don’t know. So, I am really thankful to Vidarbha for giving me the opportunity to play first-class cricket.
“So, the aim is to improve on last year and go one step further. And, you know, hopefully, we can win a couple of trophies,” he said.
The 32-year-old was understandably disappointed at not getting a first-class match for a full season but he found a shard of positive in that gloom too.
“It’s obviously been a difficult time for me. But probably that one season taught me how to value each game…practice harder, do everything smarter. I think that (non-playing season) has made me stronger and more determined to do well in each and every game,” he said.
“No matter what happens, it’s kind of made me, I don’t know, brought some kind of fire in yourself. So, just like I said, I’m happy with the way I’m batting. I want to keep continuing this way.”
The last year also rekindled Karun’s dream of walking back into the Indian dressing room.
“Yes, of course. Everyone plays this game to go out there and represent your country and that’s my only aim now — to play Test cricket again, which I think, I’m very confident that I can. I know that I’m good enough,” he said.
But for now, Karun would like to cap the good beginning to a new season with a title triumph in the ongoing KSCA Maharaja T20 with the Mysore Warriors.
“We’ve crossed the first step, that is to qualify for the semis, which is something that we set out to do when we started the tournament,” Karun Nair concluded.
