The end of 2022 was the darkest time in Karun Nair‘s cricket career, he said. After a run of outstanding domestic performances in recent years, the 33-year-old has made an incredible comeback to the Indian Test team after an eight-year sabbatical.
Karun Nair said that he has never want to go back to the agonising time when he found it difficult to understand why he was dismissed from the Indian squad in 2016 so soon after achieving a record triple century against England. There is a good chance that Nair will be included in India’s starting lineup for the opening Test match at Headingley, Leeds, given the forthcoming Test series against England.
“I would say that, in terms of incidences, the end of 2022 was a very bleak time. I was going through a really emotional time. For me, I believe it was the most difficult period. Nair told Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel, “Even harder than 2018, or whatever that was, whenever that was.”
“No. The truth is, I don’t want to be where I was a few years ago. At least right now, I feel really appreciative. I’ve moved past the whining phase, like you mentioned. I am quite thankful for my current circumstances, and I simply view each day as a gift, enjoying my life and doing what I love. Everyone who has contributed to my journey over the past two to three years, at the very least, deserves my sincere gratitude. I’ve learnt to appreciate things. I’ve learnt to cherish each moment and simply approach each day as if it were a brand-new day,” he continued.
Karun Nair acknowledged that being cut from the Indian squad left him perplexed. The right-handed hitter couldn’t make sense of what was going on around him, but he thought he would be included in the team for the 2017 Sri Lanka series.
To be honest, I had no idea what was going on. Because I believe the following series was held in Sri Lanka in 2017 following the 300 in Chennai and the Australia series. That squad didn’t include me either. I was unable to comprehend what was going on after that. After that, I had to return to playing domestic cricket,” Nair said.
Nair thought he might have guaranteed his spot in the squad with a solid performance against Australia. He acknowledged that he might not have ended up there if he had turned his starts into significant runs.
“I didn’t know what was going on. I only knew that my name was missing. How it wasn’t there was beyond me. However, there is a part of me that says, “Yes, I didn’t get too many opportunities,” when I reflect on the past. However, I would also consider my four innings against Australia, in which I received a few starts, to be another factor. Perhaps I wouldn’t be in this situation or wouldn’t have had to go through that if I had simply turned those beginnings into higher scores,” Karun Nair said.
I was naive and young: Karun Nair
Karun Nair revealed that during that challenging time, he found it impossible to regulate the ideas that were racing through his head. Despite being young and fresh off a successful domestic season, he acknowledged that he was not given many chances to establish himself at the time.
“Just figuring out what I should be doing and how I should approach things.” I was obviously much younger back then, and I doubt I could have controlled my thoughts the way I can now. Thus, I suppose I just kept getting worse because I had a muddled head and was trying so hard to go back. However, I had a fantastic domestic cricket season that year and was able to return, as I mentioned, in the 2018 campaign. Then again, I returned there. had little opportunities,” Karun Nair remarked.
The team from Karnataka felt like family: Karun Nair
Karun Nair admitted that the Karnataka team’s assistance was crucial to him during his difficult moments. Even though he wasn’t having a fantastic season at the time, he acknowledged that they were like family to him. Despite his form issues, he was grateful that they never put any pressure on him.
“I believe that Karnataka’s players have always had a strong bond. since we all started playing together at a very young age. And, if I may say so, we all received the same grade. Thus, assistance was always available. You know that no one ever lacked that support. Good things have always been uttered by them. They were always aware that I was a player. Therefore, the guys on the Karnataka team at least always trusted me,” Karun Nair stated.
Going back there felt like family once more. Its season was certainly not very good. However, I believe that happens to everyone. Yes, it’s just that everyone felt or helped me. It’s like a family, like I mentioned. And everyone was sympathetic. Additionally, they never really pressured me by saying things like, “Oh, I wasn’t scoring,” or “no one really came up to me,” Karun Nair said.
India
