Team India's history-making batter aims for fairytale Test comeback after seven years: 'I believe in my ability'

Scoring 374 runs in six Test matches may not seem significant at first glance. However, when one of those innings is a jaw-dropping triple century, it changes the entire narrative. It inspires awe and also a hint of disappointment – acknowledging the player's incredible talent while also recognizing missed opportunities in the remainder of the matches. Karun Nair's unforgettable unbeaten 303 against England in 2016 stands out among his six innings, with the next highest score being a mere 26.

Nair's last appearance in Indian colours came in 2017 during the home Test series against Sri Lanka. Since then, he has been on a challenging journey of career revival. Over the past year, Nair has showcased his batting prowess, steadily amassing runs for Vidarbha in domestic cricket and Northamptonshire in the English county circuit.

He scored 484 runs for the County side this season in seven matches with an impressive average of 49; this included a century against Glamorgan. For Vidarbha, Nair amassed 690 runs from 10 matches with two hundreds, helping his side reach the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. However, Nair is taking it one day at a time as he eyes a spot in the Indian Test team.

Nair on India comeback

With the recent departure of seasoned stalwarts like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane from the Test team, a new generation of young talents has risen to fill the void. The competition for spots in the Test lineup has grown fierce, but Karun Nair remains hopeful, believing that he can script his own fairytale comeback.

“You have to be prepared for the grind. It’s just about the next game. And I'm not looking too far into the future because sometimes you can get stuck in thinking about what's going to happen,” Karun told PTI.

“I've had scored a lot of runs in the last one year in all formats. I've just been trying to continue doing what I've been doing the last one year on every given opportunity…taking every opportunity as a new day,” he added.

But the last year has also rekindled Karun’s dream of walking back into the Indian dressing room.

“Yes, of course. Everyone plays this game to go out there and represent your country and that's my only aim now -- to play Test cricket again, which I think, I'm very confident that I can. I know that I'm good enough,” he said.

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