 "Karun Nair is one of only two Indians to score a triple-hundred in Test cricket. PTI")
Karun Nair has been rewarded for a stellar domestic season with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee including the 33-year-old in India’s squad for the upcoming tour of England while unveiling Shubman Gill as the new Test captain.
Nair, thus, was recalled into the Indian Test squad after an eight-year absence, having last represented the Indian team in any format of the game in March 2017 in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Dharamsala.
This was just four months after he became only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to score a Test triple century for India with an unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai .
Nair, however, has been handed a lifeline and an opportunity to revive his international career, in the Test format at least, with an inclusion in the squad for the England Tests that get underway in Headingley next month.
‘It’s about keeping my processes the same and going out there and doing the same things’
And it was only natural for Nair, who recently switched to Vidarbha after representing Karnataka for a majority of his domestic career, to be flooded with congratulatory messages after his name was announced by chief selector Agarkar during a press conference on Saturday.
“First of all really grateful to get back into the team. Really happy and proud. Very fortunate as well. I found out about my inclusion just like you guys did. Was eagerly waiting for the news and I got a lot of messages from my close ones. Have been batting well in the last 12-16 months,” Nair said after Delhi Capitals’ final match of the ongoing IPL season against Punjab Kings on Saturday.
“It’s about keeping my processes the same and going out there and doing the same things that have worked for me and not changing the way I have played," he added.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNair had played a key role in helping Vidarbha win their third Ranji Trophy title earlier this year, scoring 863 runs across the season at an average of 53.93, collecting four centuries and two half-centuries along the way including a match-winning 122 in the quarter-final against Tamil Nadu.
Nair was even more prolific in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s premier domestic 50-over event in which he scored 779 runs at a mind-boggling average of 389.50, collecting five centuries and a fifty in eight outings.
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His staggering numbers led to a clamour for him to be included in the squad for the ICC Champions Trophy, although Nair was eventually overlooked.
Nair made his first IPL appearance in three years this season in the home game against Mumbai Indians, making an instant impact with a 40-ball 89 – his first half-century in the league in seven years. He signed off with a knock of 44 off 27 balls in the six-wicket victory over Punjab Kings on Saturday in DC’s final game of the season.