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India's veteran batter Karun Nair is set for a comeback to Test cricket. Nair has been rewarded for piling on runs in domestic cricket. But the road to comeback was very tough and emotional for the 33-year-old. Ahead of the first Test of the five-Test series against England, Nair recalled the toughest time of his life when he was dropped from Karnataka's Ranji Trophy side. Struggling to deal with the reality, Nair broke down in tears on his wife's birthday.
“My wife was like what are you doing but I told her this is how I feel," Nair told Mail Online. ‘That was probably the toughest moment of my life. This time, it felt like my world was over. I had no idea what to do next. I was asking myself what am I supposed to do? I have a family and my son was recently born but I was lost. Mentally, I was gone,’ he added.
Nair was emotional and tweeted, "Dear cricket, give me one more chance." The post went viral on social media and then Nair went on to join Vidarbha where he turned his career around.
Nair had the option to retire and play in T20 leagues. But, he took the tougher road and chose not to give up. Even in tough times, Nair recalled having belief in himself.
"I was never going to give up on playing for India again. That was just over two years ago and look where we are now. It’s crazy but deep down, I knew I was good enough," he said.
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Nair's recent form and County record
After his Delhi Capitals (DC) stint, Nair arrived on England soil and justified the selectors' decision to give him one more chance. For India A, he scored a double century against England Lions in Canterbury. In the following matches, he registered scores of 40 and 15.
Earlier, Nair had stints with County teams as well. He In 11 innings, he has scored 487 runs for the County side at an average of 48.70.
Where will Nair bat?
Nair scored the double century at no.3 for India. It will be interesting to see if captain Shubman Gill bats at no.3 or Nair gets the nod. If the 33-year-old bats at no.4, he will take recently-retired Virat Kohli's position in the Test side.
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