Karun Nair viewed the end of 2022 as the lowest point of his cricket career. The 33-year-old has made an excellent return to the Indian Test squad after an eight-year sabbatical, following a string of strong performances in the local circuit in recent years.
Nair admitted that he never wanted to go back to the terrible era when he couldn’t understand why he was pulled from the Indian team after making a remarkable triple century against England in 2016. With the upcoming Test series against England, Nair is likely to be named to India’s playing XI for the first Test in Headingley, Leeds.
“In terms of incidents, I would say it was a very dark place at the end of 2022.” This is a very emotional time for me. I believe it was the most difficult time for me. “Even tougher than 2018, or whatever it was,” Nair told R Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
“No. I really don’t want to be where I was a few years ago. I believe I am currently grateful. As you mentioned, I’ve gotten past the complaining stage. I am grateful to be in this situation, and I approach each day as if it were a gift to me, and I am living my life and doing what I enjoy. I am grateful to everyone who has been a part of my journey over the past 2-3 years. I’ve learnt to value things. “I’ve learnt to value each moment and treat every day as a new day,” he added.
Nair admitted that he was perplexed after being pulled from the Indian team. The right-handed hitter thought he’d be in the squad for the 2017 Sri Lanka series, but he couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. Because after the 300 in Chennai and the Australia series, I believe the following series was in Sri Lanka in 2017. I wasn’t a member of that team either. And from that point on, I had no idea what was going on. Then I had to return to domestic cricket,” Nair said.
Nair believes that a great performance against Australia would have guaranteed his spot on the team. He conceded that if he had turned his starts into large scores, he might not be in that predicament.
“I had no idea what was going on.” All I knew was that my name wasn’t present. I had no idea how it wasn’t there. But if I look back, there is a part of me that says, “Yes, I didn’t get enough opportunities.” However, I would consider the four innings I played against Australia, as well as the fact that I received a few starts. If I had only translated those beginnings into higher scores, I might not be in this position or have had to go through that,” Nair said.
I was young and confused. Karun Nair
Nair admitted that he battled to control the ideas that raced through his head during that difficult time. He stated that he was young and fresh off a successful domestic season at the time, but he was not given many chances to show himself.
“I’m just figuring out how I should approach things and what I should do. Obviously, I was much younger at the time and couldn’t regulate what was going on in my thoughts as well as I can now. So, basically, I had a muddled mind and was trying so hard to recover that I believe I only became worse. But I had a wonderful domestic cricket season that year and was able to return, as I mentioned in 2018. And then I went back there. “I didn’t have many opportunities,” Nair explained.
Karnataka team felt like family: Karun Nair
Nair acknowledged that the support he received from the Karnataka team was invaluable during his tough times. He conceded they were like family to him, even though he was not having a great season then. He appreciated that they never put any pressure on him despite his struggles with form.
“I think there has always been a great bond between the players in Karnataka. Because we all played together from a very young age. And all of us made the grade at the same time, if I can say that. So, there was always support. There was never anyone, you know, lacking that support. They have always said good things. They always knew the player that I was. So, I always had the trust from the players in the Karnataka team at least,” Nair said.
“So, to go back there, it again felt like a family. And obviously, it didn’t have a great season. But that happens to anyone, I would think. And yeah, it’s just everyone felt or everyone supported me. Like I said, it’s like a family. And everyone was caring. And they never put any undue pressure on me in terms of, ‘oh, I wasn’t scoring’ or no one really came up to me,” he concluded.
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