NEW DELHI: Eight long years — or 3,011 days to be exact — that’s how long Karun Nair waited to walk out in an India Test jersey again. But the fairy tale comeback didn’t unfold the way he had imagined. On his much-anticipated return to Test cricket, Karun lasted just four balls, dismissed for a duck.England captain Ben Stokes was the party spoiler. He delivered a full outswinger, wide of off stump — tempting Karun into a drive. But the right-hander wasn’t fully committed to the shot. Instead of finding the gap, the ball flew off the bat and straight into the hands of Ollie Pope at short cover, who pulled off a spectacular catch — diving full stretch to his left, both hands overhead, nearly horizontal to the ground.Karun, who etched his name into Indian cricket history with a stunning triple century against England in Chennai back in December 2016, had last played a Test in 2017. Since then, he toiled away in domestic cricket, patiently waiting for a comeback. “Dear cricket, give me one more chance,” he often reminded himself.
He let his bat do the talking in the 2024–25 season — amassing 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy games with four centuries, and 779 runs in eight Vijay Hazare Trophy innings, including five tons. His perseverance was finally rewarded when the BCCI picked him for the five-match Test series in England.Nair, India’s 287th Test cricketer, received his comeback cap from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar — a moment he will always cherish, even if the script on the field didn’t quite go his way.
