“How hard and lonely it was for him” - KL Rahul hails Karun Nair’s Indian comeback after eight years

Indian veteran batter KL Rahul has praised the comeback man Karun Nair, who was his long-time teammate in domestic cricket before the latter switched to Vidarbha. Notably, Nair has been named in the Indian squad for the England tour, scheduled to start on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.

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Interestingly, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has almost confirmed Nair’s spot in the playing XI. Furthermore, Rahul acknowledged the Vidarbha batter’s difficulties during all these eight years after being axed from the squad.

“I’ve known him for a very long time and the months that he spent here in the UK, playing cricket and how hard and lonely it was and for him to be able to do all of that and come back into the Indian team. I think it’s special for him, for his family, and for friends like us who’ve seen his journey,” said Rahul in a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its X handle.

Nair last played for Team India in 2017 after scoring only 71 runs in his last six innings before being dropped. His career-best knock came against England in December 2016 in Chennai when he scored 303* runs.

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Nevertheless, Nair didn’t lose hope as he went on to score 1553 runs in 33 innings for Vidarbha in the 2024-25 season. His career-best Ranji Trophy season, including 883 runs, propelled Vidarbha to a title win.

“So, like I said, very inspiring as well and hopefully his experience and his learnings from playing county cricket here will hold him in good stead when he plays the Test matches here,” Rahul added.

Earlier, Gambhir stated that the selection committee’s decision to include hard-working Nair in the Indian squad meant a message for all the youngsters to keep striving in domestic cricket and wait for their inclusion in the national team.

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“All the youngsters will know its importance. If you keep doing well there, doors are never shut for you. It’s always good to have the experience of Karun, he played County cricket there and he is in really good form. His experience will come in handy. More importantly, we won’t judge someone by one or two Test matches. If someone has scored heaps of runs, he will be given a decent run,” Gambhir said.

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