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Karun Nair (Source-X)
Indian cricket fans began to trend Karun Nair’s name on social media on Monday. The 32-year-old last played Test cricket for India in 2017. Karun Nair turns 33 years old on December 6th on the same day that India takes on Australia at the Adelaide Test. The right-handed batter is considered a domestic stalwart with the ability to score huge runs.
The discussion started when cricket fans posted the scorecard of the 2016 Test hiding the name of the player with the score 303 not out. Many fans were soon discussing Nair’s stats on social media and asking about his non-inclusion. Some of the fans even recounted his triple century against England with delight. It was a huge innings against Alastair Cook-led side that had players like Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid in the side. Some fans even slammed BCCI for wasting a batter of such calibre and not picking him.
It is to be noted that Karun Nair is only the 2nd Indian batter to score a Test triple century. That feat came during the 2016 Test match against England in Chennai where Nair scored 303 not out from 381 balls. The knock came in 565 minutes of batting with 32 fours and 4 huge sixes.
Imagine scoring a triple century in Indian pitch and still did not get to play atleast 10 test matches.
β Sandeep Raj (@loyal_CSKfan) December 2, 2024
Life of Karun Nair pic.twitter.com/nYbKf8CBm5
His last game for India was against Australia in Dharamshala where Nair scored just 5 runs in the only innings he batted. After that series the Vidarbha based batter wasn’t considered for selection. The only time Nair came close to comeback was during the 2018 Test tour of England but didn’t get a chance to bat.
Can Karun Nair make his comeback to the Indian cricket team?
As the proverb says ‘Age is just a number’ and Karun Nair is just about to turn 33 years old. After a few seasons of struggles with the bat, his move to play for Vidarbha seems to have worked for the forgotten Indian cricket star. So far in the 4 Ranji games this season, Nair has scored 291 runs with an average of 58.2 and has hit 1 century and one fifty.
Karun nairπ₯ https://t.co/WKGeKb4ETFpic.twitter.com/uvNrUn5cAU
β Dγ½οΈ (@itz_dharma) December 2, 2024
During the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, the right-handed batter has scored 225 runs in four games. His average in the early part of the T20 tournament is 56.25 with three fifties with a strike rate of 177.1. The veteran batter is set to play for Delhi Capitals during the IPL 2025 season when he is picked in the final rounds of the auction.
It was during the Ranji finals of the 2014/15 season that Karun first hit the headlines. The aged 23, Nair scored 328 runs in the huge game for Karnataka against Tamil Nadu. The right-handed batter added 386 runs for the 6th wicket KL Rahul who scored 188.
Nair’s innings came off 560 balls as he batted for 872 minutes and hit 46 fours and a six. Karnataka posted a massive 762 on the board while replying to the 134 scored by Tamil Nadu in their first innings. Vinay Kumar’s side won the title after beating their opponents by an innings and 217 runs.
Karun Nair India most underrated Player π He scored trible hundred in test and without any reason he dropped from the team π#KarunNairpic.twitter.com/WOFlLKL2BQ
β Randhir Mishra (@18ViratC) December 2, 2024
During his chat with ESPNCRICINFO in June this year, Karun Nair said, “They say a player peaks at 30-31, I would like to believe that's true in my case. The last one year has been good. After last year's Maharaja T20, I had a pretty good domestic season."
The 32-year-old also said, “I feel like I'm batting as well as I've ever done. I am in a good head space, I know where my game is. I am just making sure if I get opportunities, wherever it may be, the focus is on making the most of those chances so that I can climb up the stairs again. It's still exciting to wake up each morning and dream of finding a way back to play Test cricket.”
So far Nair has played 6 Test matches for India and scored 374 runs with an average of 62.33 with a best of 303 not out. The batter has also played 2 ODI matches scoring 46 runs with a best of 39. In 76 IPL matches, Nair has scored 1496 runs with 10 fifties and a strike rate of 127.