Karun Nair made a remarkable return to the Indian cricket team after an eight-year gap, following his impressive double century for India A against the England Lions in an unofficial Test match. The Test specialist joined the senior squad in Beckenham on June 13, just ahead of the highly anticipated Test series against England.Ever since, he’s played both the Tests against England, scoring a combined 77 runs in four innings at an average of 19.25. While the comeback has not set the scoring charts on fire, his persistence is something that deserves celebrating and appreciation.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Nair forced his way into reckoning for an India squad inclusion by performing well in the domestic cricuit. Representing Vidarbha in the 2024–25 domestic season, he collected 863 runs at an average of 53.93, playing a key role in their Ranji Trophy title triumph. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he smashed five centuries in just eight innings and finished with a jaw-dropping average of 389.50.“You tell me one thing, you were in the same position. So many times, you had to go back to first-class cricket and you had to perform and get a lot of runs to make a comeback. I was exactly in the same boat as well. The only way you can look at a comeback or the only way you can think of playing Test cricket for India is if you’ve been dropped or if you’re not part of it, is going back to first-class cricket and score heaps and heaps of runs,” said India coach Gautam Gambhir in conversation with Cheteshwar Pujara on Sony Sports Network.“And Karun Nair has done that exactly. He’s done that. That’s the reason why I said that for me, first-class cricket is very, very important.You know the importance of first-class cricket. You’ve played so much of first-class cricket. For me, I think the foundation of Indian cricket is the first-class structure,” he added.Ahead of the Test series, during a team huddle, Gambhir had said on Nair, “Comebacks are never easy. The amount of runs you’ve got, the never-give-up attitude — it’s inspiring for the entire team. Welcome back, Karun Nair!”India teammate KL Rahul added to Nair’s work ethic. “I’ve known him for a very long time. The months he has spent here in the UK playing cricket and how hard and how lonely it was. For him to be able to do all of that and come back into the Indian team is special for him and his family, and friends like us who’ve seen his journey,” said Rahul.
