“Dear cricket, give me one more chance,” Karun Nair said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) in December 2022 after seeing his cricket career nearing a heartbreaking end. However, the middle-order batsman turned things around dramatically in the subsequent 12 to 13 months and is reportedly back in contention for national selection. Nair's case remains one of the most interesting in Indian cricket. He famously scored 303 against England in Chennai, but still couldn't become a central figure in India's plans for the longest format. However, with an exemplary performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, Nair's astonishing numbers have forced the Ajit Agarkar-led National Selection Committee to stand up and take notice.
Dear cricket, give me one more chance.
— Karun Nair (@karun126) December 10, 2022
Over the last six innings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a 50-over domestic competition, Nair has amassed scores of 112*, 44*, 163*, 111*, 112*, 122*. He is yet to be dismissed in this edition of the tournament after amassing over 600 runs without getting out.
His exploits with the bat also placed him at the top of the list of most runs scored by a batsman in the history of List A cricket without being dismissed. He is also only the second batsman to score five centuries in a single edition of the tournament after Narayan Jagadeesan of Tamil Nadu. So far, only three batters have managed to record four consecutive centuries in List A cricket, Nair being one of them.
“It was an emotional moment when I posted that tweet,” Nair told the Indian Express of his unbeaten 122 and unbroken 200-run stand with Dhruv Shorey (unbeaten 118) for Vidarbha against Rajasthan.
“For six to seven months, when I was not playing cricket, I would only travel three hours a day to have a net session. I had no other option. I was not eligible for any format and I got really emotional at that moment. I had to move on and work on myself. Moving on was not easy, I needed a few months to get over it and then start practicing my skills and mindset to prepare myself so that if I got another chance, wouldn't give this Everyone had an excuse to drop me. To do that I had to score points and be consistent. So I worked hard to get that back into my game,” he said.
Recording warning
Vidarbha captain Karun Nair has now hit the most s in a season #VijayHazareTrophywhich equals N Jagadeesan's (2022-23) total of 5 centuries!
Relive his fantastic 122* win against Rajasthan in the quarter-final @IDFCFIRSTBank | @karun126 pic.twitter.com/AvLrUyBgKv
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) January 12, 2025
The paper states that Nair is being examined for the longest role as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma near the end of their careers in red-ball cricket.
“As India enters a transition phase, with seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling in the Tests, Karun is a player the selectors are watching with keen interest,” it said.
Not long ago, Nair even struggled to find a team to play for. This is when former India international and current BCCI GM Abey Kuruvilla came to his rescue.
“He was my selector during my U-19 days, and I had the freedom to walk up to him and say, 'Sir, I am looking for a team to play, can you please help' and so moved me to Vidarbha I am very grateful to him and the Vidarbha association because I was just looking for an opportunity and when it came I just wanted to grab it,” Nair explained.
“Everyone wants to play for their country and I am no different. I would love to play Test matches again and for that I know I have to keep doing my job again and again,” said the batsman, one of the few triple centurions in the world, concluded.
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