Tracing Karun Nair’s remarkable comeback in Indian cricket: From being dropped to scoring a century in England

As Usman Ghani watched, from Vidarbha’s dressing room, Karun Nair bat as if he had been possessed by the spirit of Don Bradman in game after game during the Vijay Hazare Trophy early this year, he remembered a conversation he had had with the born-again cricketer.

Unreal run

And after his unreal run in India’s premier fifty-over tournament, with scores of 112 not out, 44 not out, 163 not out, 111 not out, 112, 122 not out, and 88 not out in successive innings, Karun had hopes of making it to the Indian team for the Champions Trophy.

Ghani, too, felt Karun would be picked. But, he wasn’t. His comeback to international cricket would have to wait. Not any longer, though.

Karun was first named in the India-A side for the England tour. And then in the Indian Test squad. There was almost an air of inevitability to it: even if the last Test he played was eight years ago. This is indeed one of Indian cricket’s most remarkable comebacks. Something even Mohinder Amarnath, the father of all comebacks, may approve of.

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The selectors could afford to ignore Karun for the Champions Trophy: they had the cushion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, after all. Karun, however, continued to amass runs against the red ball, too, and played a major role in Vidarbha regaining the Ranji Trophy. His 135 in the second innings shut Kerala out of the final; he could have scored a hundred in the first innings as well, but was run out for 86.

He swept and reverse-swept to neutralise the threat from Kerala’s best bowler Jalaj Saxena. His determination to take his side to a position from where it could not lose was admirable. The ability to play long innings has always been one of his qualities, something the Test team could find useful.

Ghani is also impressed by Karun’s dedication. “He gives his best every time, even at the nets, and I was so happy when the selectors finally had to select him,” the coach told The Hindu over the phone from Nagpur. “Like him, I too was disappointed when he was not picked for the Champions Trophy. And he was feeling low.”

But not for long. He had a chat with a certain Sachin Tendulkar on the phone.

“Atul Ranade, assistant coach at Vidarbha and Sachin’s close friend, made it possible,” recalled Ghani. “Karun was motivated by his conversation with the master. He told me he felt a lot better after that chat.”

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A costly ‘no’

Ghani believes Vidarbha was fortunate to secure Karun’s services. He had been dropped by Karnataka in 2022, and when he expressed a desire to play for Kerala, the State of his origin, its cricket administrators were not keen. That was probably the costliest ‘no’ after Shatrughan Sinha rejected Ramesh Sippy’s offer of the role that eventually was enacted by Amitabh Bachchan in Sholay.

Unlike many Malayalis who grew up outside Kerala, Karun speaks fluent Malayalam. After scoring a hundred for India-A against South Africa-A in the unofficial Test at Krishnagiri in Kerala back in 2015, he told the Kerala Cricket Association’s media manager that he was hoping for a few questions in Malayalam at the press conference. Incidentally, that hundred proved timely, as he was flown out as a replacement for the injured M. Vijay in India’s Test squad in Sri Lanka.

Ahead of the Ranji Trophy final in Nagpur, however, Karun got plenty of opportunities to speak in Malayalam. There was a large media contingent from Kerala to cover the team’s first-ever Ranji Trophy final. He spoke with a smile about the KCA’s snub.

He also talked about how he battled his way back into contention for a place in the Indian team after that poignant tweet of his, ‘Dear cricket, give me another chance’, following his omission from the Karnataka team in 2022. He admitted it was a very low phase in his life. And he is someone who has experienced the kind of high only one other Indian Test batter has.

In 2016, against England at Chennai, he made a monumental 303 not out, in what was only his third Test innings. Only Virender Sehwag had scored a Test triple-hundred before for India, and, of course, none has since.

Karun, however, was dropped for the following Test, against Bangladesh at Hyderabad a couple of months later, because Ajinkya Rahane, whose injury had paved his way into the team in Chennai, was back. Karun made his return during the home series against Australia, but the fourth Test at Dharamsala would prove to be his last.

That was in 2017. Eight years later, he could very well be batting in the middle-order at Leeds in the first Test against England next month.

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He will have earned that privilege the hard way. His experience in county cricket should come in handy. He scored 202 not out against Glamorgan last season and 150 against Surrey in 2023.

“The county stint has helped me to understand my game more, the different ways of playing and that there will be times a batsman finds it tough to score runs, but it is important to hang in there and play the ball on its merit,” said Karun. “In England, you realise the ball is swinging all day and you may not get to play any spinners the whole day. The experience convinced me my game is good enough to play in any conditions. I have taken that confidence to India.”

His confidence got a further boost when he was made the Vidarbha captain for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. “The added responsibility brought the best of Karun,” said Ghani. “This year he has been more aggressive in his batting. I said to him — ‘Karun, why don’t you express yourself more?’”

He certainly did. And not just with the bat.

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Sending a message

When he scored that hundred in the Ranji final, he raised nine fingers to indicate it was his ninth of the season. When asked if it was only meant for the dressing room, as the national selectors were also present at the VCA Stadium, he smiled mischievously and said, “You can take it however you like”.

After the match, selector Subroto Banerjee shook hands with him. And Karun smiled broadly. He knew he must have impressed him. 

But it hadn’t been easy to catch the selectors’ eyes in a country brimming over with batting talent. And he had to inch his way back from being a forgotten man of Indian cricket.

“You can imagine how difficult that phase of my life must have been,” he said. “My parents and my wife were my pillars all through. And those times made me understand people. When times are good, there will be a lot of people with you.”

The good times are back again for Karun. And it could be good news, too, for the most inexperienced Indian batting line-up in years.