Karun Nair’s career has been a roller-coaster ride. When he scored a triple century in only his third Test, Karun was destined for big things. However, he played only three more international games and fell off the radar.
Two years ago, even his home State Karnataka dropped him, forcing him to miss an entire season. But since moving to Vidarbha in the 2023-24 season, the 33-year-old is back amongst the runs. In the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, he has led from the front, scoring five centuries in six games.
ALSO READ: How prolific Karun refined and redefined his career with Vidarbha
In a chat with The Hindu, Karun opened up about the tough times and still believes he can make an India comeback. Excerpts:
What’s the secret to the incredible run recently?
It’s no secret, really. It’s just years of hard work, following the process day in and day out, training and practising. It’s not something that’s just come off suddenly. I think it’s the work of a few years. I’m happy with the way it’s coming out, and I hope it continues.
Do you feel you are playing some of your best cricket now?
Yeah, I think I’ve been playing really well for the last 16-17 months. I have played many county matches as well and getting runs there in difficult conditions has boosted my confidence.
I have been just trying to enjoy my batting, and it’s been coming out well in all formats in the recent past. I am looking forward to continue in the same way, and every game matters. Every game is another opportunity for me to score runs.
How helpful have the county stints been?
It was my first experience, and it was pretty unexpected. I was playing the Maharaja Trophy, and suddenly, I got a call to play three matches for Northamptonshire towards the end of the season. It is actually the better part of the season to play county cricket. So I was really happy with the opportunity, and I played two out of three matches at Test venues against top opposition (2023). I got runs in Edgbaston and scored a 150 at The Oval (against Surrey) which was amazing and gave me a lot of confidence.
The ball swings there all day. The innings at The Oval, I think we played with the lights on all day; it was that gloomy, cold and windy. The ball swung throughout, and it was against the best pace attack in the county — champion Surrey.
So, to get runs against them was a learning experience for me. Honestly, I was happy to be out there and I did not have any target in my mind. I was just enjoying my batting, telling myself I didn’t care if I didn’t get runs. I only wanted to learn how to play there. I was really happy. It’s probably one of the best innings in my career.
There were phases during that innings where I didn’t get runs for like 20-30 balls. I had to do something and told myself ‘it’s just a learning. I want to stay here and learn how to play in these conditions’.
Whenever your name has come up in recent times, it is more to do with ‘Karun Nair the triple centurion who then went away.’ Does it feel good to be in the limelight for your runs and records again?
Quite honestly, it’s not on my mind that much because, for me, every match is important. In my head, I keep saying every game is essential no matter where I play. I want to get runs for my team wherever I play. That’s the only thought process at the moment and nothing else matters to me.
You missed out most of the 2022-23 season. Has the change of jersey helped your career?
I’m very grateful to the Vidarbha Cricket Association for giving me the opportunity. I missed one year for reasons even I don’t know. Honestly, I didn’t understand or still haven’t got any answers to that and I don’t think I’m the right person to even say anything because I don’t think I was wrong.
To not be playing a full season was really heartbreaking and disappointing. It probably helped me become a stronger person, looking outward at myself and learning every single day. When you’re not given the opportunity that’s when you realise what you miss.
How did you keep yourself motivated during the tough times?
It was heartbreaking at the start. Especially, since you don’t know, you are not given any indication and there was no time. So, basically it was just me missing out on an entire season during which anything could have happened. That was the only thought in my head: what if I had played that season? That was the first full season after Covid.
Obviously, family and close friends helped a lot in keeping the spirits high. They tried their best but honestly you as a person know what you’re going through but all you can do is just go for practice and do your work.
How hard was it to get up every day because the future was uncertain at that point? At any stage did you feel like leaving the game?
I didn’t want to leave. I never thought of leaving the game. I knew that I could do a lot more and I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong so why should I give up? There were certain things that got stuck in my head, certain lines that I’ve heard which I used to spur me on. At first it kind of broke me but then I used those to help me get up and go and practice harder.
You have had a very brief Test career. You made a triple hundred but got only a handful of chances after that. In 2018, you were part of the squad in England but you were overlooked even when there was an opening. How tough was that period?
I think it’s been a few years… actually many years now from that. So I have really gotten past that. But when I scored runs at The Oval, that was the place where I didn’t play in the fifth Test match.
After scoring the 150, I stood by myself on the balcony and just soaked that feeling where I was thinking how I felt about four-five years ago and how I’m feeling now.
That feeling cannot be described. It was like life coming back a full circle at the same ground where I thought it couldn’t get any worse.
In hindsight, do you feel you could have done things differently to get those chances?
I’m not sure what I would have done differently, and I don’t want to look so far back. I just want to focus on what I’m doing now.
How tough was it when you were maybe one game away from getting back into the team, and then you saw things slipping away from you?
I’ve been through many things. I think this past experience (missing 2022-23) is far greater than that. Obviously, that’s also a different experience than what I went through a couple of years ago. I think all these experiences made me the person that I am today.
Where do you draw your mental strength from?
These kinds of instances make you work that much harder or make you more determined. I’m not sure I want to prove anyone wrong but I just want to prove to myself that I am good enough to play at that level.
Do you still feel you can make a comeback?
Sure, if I didn’t feel like that, I wouldn’t go and play county cricket. Why would I do that if I didn’t have any intentions or if I didn’t have the belief in myself to play Test cricket again?
So, the intentions are very clear from my side, at least that I really think that I can and I think that I’m good enough. Age is just a number. Even in this past series, I think Scott Boland was 35 and picking wickets for fun. I don’t think that should be the criteria, from my point of view at least.
In the last couple of years you have been in and out of IPL sides. Can that also affect the perception of a player that you are not in the limelight any more?
To a certain extent it’s true: the out of sight, out of mind kind of thing. From 2014 to 2018, I played every single game. After that, I haven’t played at all and I don’t understand why. I have played just four or five games. It’s probably very hard once you get out of people’s minds to get back in.
Where do you feel you have grown as a cricketer in the last few years?
You just learn a lot of things about your batting like what you can do, what you can’t do, believing in yourself a lot more because you just kind of start to understand your game a lot more.
You understand what you’re good at and what you’re not good at. What the bowlers are trying to do and how you can counter that. You just keep learning every day, and there comes a point when you understand your game much better, and you’re able to implement that in your game in any situation. So, I think I’m at that point now where I am settled in my game and I trust my game and the way I’m playing.
If you were to zoom in on a specific aspect in which you have gotten better…
Just consistency and belief in my batting and what I can do in the way that I know. I’m not trying to be anyone else and just taking every match as important as the last one.
If you were to make a comeback, do you think you’re in a much stronger situation?
As you grow older, you learn more about yourself and the game. You have been following a certain process for many years and if something’s working, then you stick to it. You know your game is suited to any condition or opponent.
If you don’t get to play Test cricket again, will there be any regrets?
Obviously, there will be regrets but more disappointment that probably I could have done much more in whatever opportunities I had. I can only say that I should have, in the succeeding innings [after the triple century], made sure that the 25s or 30s I scored grew into something bigger. And not let anyone take that chance away from me.
Does that affect you sometimes?
No, it’s been many years now. I would be lying if I say it didn’t affect me at the start. I don’t think about it any more, and I just use it as motivation to do better every single time.
Published – January 15, 2025 11:50 pm IST
