After a prolonged wait on the sidelines and a melancholic social media post nearly three years back, Karun Nair has made a sensational reunion with cricket, scoring five hundreds in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy and he is now cautiously optimistic about wearing the Indian jersey after eight years.

Karun, who has scored 752 runs at a mind-blowing average of 752 for Vidarbha, now looks hungry for runs, and is a far cry from the forlorn player who scribbled: “Dear Cricket, please give me another chance.”

Will that opportunity come his way when the selectors announce India’s ODI squads for the home one-dayers against England and the ICC Champions Trophy? Only time will tell, but he has good reasons to “dream.” “The dream is always to play for the country. So, yes, the dream is still alive. That’s the reason we play this game, to play for your country. So, the one and only goal was to play for the country,” Karun told PTI.

But as someone who has endured massive setbacks and near-misses in his career, Karun does not want to think too far ahead.

“I think this is my third comeback (laughs). And I need to keep doing what I am doing at the moment. Keep scoring runs whenever I can in every single game that I play. That’s the most that I can do. Everything else is not in my control.

“But till it (selection) happens, it’s just a dream. It’s still not there yet. But again, like I said, I would like to focus on one innings at a time,” the 33-year-old said.

So, what has he done differently from the past to get back to his run-making ways?

“I’ve not done anything differently. There is no secret. I think it’s just years of hard work and persistence, you know, the coming together of all of it. And probably you can say, taking each day as a new one and making sure that I respect every single innings that I play.” But there were days when the 33-year-old was apprehensive about his cricketing future, when runs totally dried up in domestic matches and in the IPL.

“I will be lying if I say I was not afraid. I think anyone would have those feelings. But I never had the thought that my career would end. I just had the thought of where it is going? What am I doing? How has this happened? “It takes a while for you to come out of that phase and to understand what is happening and then what you are supposed to do. So, I told myself that I need to start from zero again.

“And give myself a few years and see where it goes. And then I can decide what to do. So, that was my thought process,” he explained.

But the tough passage made him more aware about himself and his game.

“It was a tough situation to be in. Emotionally, mentally. But yeah, it really taught me a lot of things about myself as a person and about my cricket. So, I am really grateful for those learnings. Without that, I don’t think I would be in this situation at the moment.”

Shifting to Vidarbha was a good move

The first hint of change in his fortunes came along with a shift to Vidarbha from Karnataka ahead of the 2023-24 season.

“I am really grateful that I got this opportunity from Vidarbha Cricket Association to play First-Class cricket. First of all, without which, you know, I wouldn’t be here. And for the platform they have provided and the environment they have created to, you know, welcome me.

“They treat me as a family and make me feel like I have been playing with them for many years.

“And I never got the feeling that I am a professional or an outsider. So, it was really comfortable. And very humble people. So, they all helped me get through each and every game with a smile and a positive environment,” he said.

The right-handed batter also thanked former India pacer Abey Kuruvilla for facilitating his entry into Vidarbha squad.

“Abey Kuruvila was the person I spoke to first. I just spoke to him saying that I just need a team to play. And he is the one who spoke to Vidarbha Cricket Association and put me in touch with them,” he added.

Since then the runs began to steadily increase.

He made runs for Burbage & ER Cricket Club in the minor county before smashing a double hundred for Northamptonshire in the County circuit.

In that year’s Ranji Trophy season Karun fared well, amassing 690 runs from 10 matches at an average of 40.58 with two hundreds, something that later prompted VCA officials to hand over the captaincy to him.

But the second Indian batter to make a triple hundred in Test cricket, has not forgotten his days of struggle, which keeps a memory point to stay rooted.

“I have not forgotten those days. I have learnt a lot. You know, each time it gets tougher, you come out as a stronger person from that.

“So, I am really thankful for all the experiences. But I would like to use them to, you know, to my advantage and make sure that I learn from every single day and every single innings.

“I want to keep getting better as a cricketer and as a person. So, that’s how I look at life at the moment,” he signed off.

Vidarbha’s Karun Nair. File
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Karun Nair on Saturday backed Vidarbha to come good against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final owing to their ability to fight back from tough situations, an attribute that the two-time winners displayed against Madhya Pradesh in the semifinal.

Vidarbha bounced back strongly in the second innings after being bowled out for a mere 170 in the first to win by 62 runs, setting up the final against Mumbai which starts here on Sunday.

“The thrilling and close win against Madhya Pradesh really showed the character in the team, a lot of fighting ability,” Nair told PTI Video in an exclusive interview here at the Wankhede Stadium.

“We have always come back from difficult situations, that was another difficult situation (first innings against Madhya Pradesh) where we didn’t play quite well to our potential in the first innings, but we came back really hard and won that game,” he said.

However, Nair hoped that there is no such situation for the team to deal with in the final.

“But we need to start well in this game and try to be on top, right from the beginning,” he said.

Having parted ways with his home state Karnataka ahead of this season, Nair emerged as Vidarbha’s leading run-scorer this season in the Ranji Trophy with 616 runs in nine matches at 41.06 with two centuries and as many fifties.

The right-handed Nair, who is only the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to have scored a triple hundred in Test cricket, credited his adaptability for the success.

“It’s been an amazing season for me, I have played really well, and playing for a new team is always tough, I think I have adapted really well,” he said.

“I have done well in all formats of the game, (be it) in Mushtaq Ali (Trophy), Vijay Hazare (Trophy) and (now) in the Ranji Trophy.

“We have qualified for the knockouts in all formats, and making it to the final in the Ranji Trophy, it cannot get bigger than this, really looking forward to an exciting game,” Nair said.

Nair has special memories with the venue for the final, Wankhede Stadium, for having struck a gigantic 328 in the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 final between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which set up a massive win by an innings and 217 runs.

The 32-year-old, however, wanted to keep his focus on the impending contest and not brood too much on the past.

“If you think of dreams, you will want to repeat that again but you don’t think that. You just hope to contribute as much as you can to the team winning,” he said.

“To win that game would be my first objective but if the opportunity comes and I am set then scoring a big hundred would always mean special to me,” Nair added.

With the Ranji final featuring several International players, Nair said the Vidarbha side wants to keep the focus on their processes and not any other factor.

“It’s about playing as a unit and as a team. Obviously, they have individuals that can change the course of a game but we are not thinking about that, we want to do our processes and our routine as well as we can and after that whatever is the result, we will take that,” he added.