June 1: Karun Nair’s comeback is one of the most tremendous comebacks in the world of cricket. A player who was nowhere on the radar of the Indian selectors till the last domestic season, performed so well this season that the selectors were forced to select him for an important tour like England. The selectors also selected him for the India-A tour to prepare him and now this stylish batsman has proved his selection right. He has scored a double century in the unofficial test against England Lions.
Actually, a four-day match is being played between India-A and England Lions in Canterbury. As a preparation before the tour of India’s senior team, some players were sent for this two-match series against England Lions. In the first match, Karun came out to bat at number three and scored a century on the first day of the match. He was unbeaten on 186 runs till the end of the first day’s play. On the second day, he needed 14 runs. He completed it and has strengthened his claim for the Test series against England. Karun completed his double century by hitting a four.
Karun completed two hundred runs by hitting a four
Karun was removed on the ball of Zaman Akhtar after scoring 204 runs in 281 balls with 26 fours and a six. At one point, India lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran for 51 runs. After this, Karun along with Sarfaraz Khan shared a 181-run partnership for the third wicket. Sarfaraz missed the century and was dismissed after scoring 92 runs with the help of 13 fours in 119 balls. At the same time, Karun shared a 195-run partnership with Dhruv Jurel for the fourth wicket. Jurel was dismissed after scoring 94 runs with the help of 11 fours and a six in 120 balls.
This was the first setback for India on the second day and the fourth overall. After this, Karun completed his double century and proudly raised his bat and accepted the greetings of the audience. At the time of writing the news, India has scored 460+ runs after losing five wickets. Nitish Reddy was dismissed after scoring seven runs.
Karun strengthened his claim for the senior team
Thanks to this double century, Karun has strengthened his claim for the five-match Test series against England starting June 20. He can come to bat at number three, fourth or fifth. Sai Sudarshan and Karun Nair are almost certain to come to the two places vacant after the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from Tests. However, the story of his comeback has not been easy. For this, Karun had to struggle a lot and roll a lot of papad. He has returned to the Indian team after seven years, while if he takes the field against England on June 20, he will play for India after eight years. Karun last played Tests for India in 2017. After this, in 2018, he was selected in the Indian team for the England tour, but could not play a single match.
Karun Nair’s comeback is like a film story
After playing many great innings in domestic cricket, good news came for Karun. His comeback is no less than a film story. After continuous failure in cricket in the year 2022, he wrote an emotional post. Nair wrote on X, ‘Dear cricket, give me another chance.’ Now he has got another chance and he is trying to capitalize on this opportunity vigorously. Nair made his debut for India in 2016, but despite scoring a triple century in Tests, he failed to play for the team for a long time. Once he was out of the team, he never returned. After being dropped from the Karnataka team in 2022, he posted on social media ‘Dear Cricket’.
Will have to perform effectively for the senior team
An impressive performance for the Indian team in England will definitely keep this right-handed batsman in Team India for a long time. Especially at a time when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have left the format, Karun will try to capture the place of one of them by playing a good innings. After representing Karnataka in domestic cricket for many years, he is now representing Vidarbha. In the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 779 runs in eight innings, including five centuries. Four of these were back-to-back centuries. He almost single-handedly took Vidarbha to the final. Not only this, he also performed brilliantly in the Ranji Trophy. He scored 863 runs in nine matches, including an important century and a half-century in the final against Kerala. His role was important in Vidarbha winning the title.
Karun scored runs at an average of 62 for India
In six Test matches for India, Karun has scored 374 runs at an average of 62.33. This includes a triple century. During this, his scores in seven innings have been – 4, 13, 303*, 26, 0, 23 and 5 runs. In first-class cricket, Karun has scored 8211* runs at an impressive average of 49.16. This includes 23 centuries and 36 half-centuries. Despite scoring a triple century for India, he was sidelined. Apart from this, he has also played two ODIs for India. In 2016, he played two matches against Zimbabwe in Harare. In this, he scored a total of 46 runs.
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