On December 10, 2022, a hurt Karun Nair wrote on his social media handles: ‘Dear cricket give me one more chance.' On May 24, 2025, cricket replied: ‘Dear Karun, you will get one more chance.' The 33-year-old Nair got that opportunity for a career re-launch through his selection to the 18-member Indian squad for next month's tour of England. It's an extraordinary tale of comeback, of persistence and willingness to grind it out in the disheartening obscurity of domestic cricket over eight years.
Even the toughest man can crumble under that draining drill, optimism getting sun-dried by each passing day.
But Nair dared to dream a comeback even when the world around him believed that all the hopes had been extinguished. After all, it's easy to forget old names amidst the rush of fresh talents.
However, one part in Nair remained unyielding, forcing him to explore various channels to return to run-making ways, and joining Northamptonshire in English County cricket was a wise first step.
In 2023, he made 249 runs from three matches at an average of 83 for Northants, including a hundred against eventual champions Surrey.
A year later, Nair aggregated 487 runs from seven matches at an average of 49, including a century against Glamorgan for his County side.
But those numbers were not strong enough to spark a national return but were good enough to give him the confidence.
“Everyone knows, for Indian batsmen to go and score runs in England … to play the moving ball is tough. So, I've learnt a lot more about myself as a batsman and finding ways to score runs and believing in myself,” Nair had told PTI last year.
The real turnaround in his career came along with his shift to Vidarbha from Karnataka, where he was increasingly finding
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