Told Me To Retire For League Money, Karun Nair On Shocking Advice From Indian Cricketer
Story Highlights:
- Karun Nair’s last Test appearance was in 2016
- Nair recalls getting advice from a prominent cricketer to retire.
- Nair did not want to take the T20 leagues route and continued on his path of comeback.
India is preparing to begin their 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle with a five-match Test series against England, starting on June 20 at Headingley. One of the notable developments in the lead-up to this series is the return of Karun Nair to the Test team after a long absence.r-year absence.
At 33, Nair has managed to live his dream of playing in India whites once again. Nair, a rare member of India’s elite triple-centurion club in Test cricket, has had a remarkable journey back to the national team.
Karun Nair Unveils Shocking News Before the 1st Test Against England.
In a recent discussion with Mail Sport, Nair opened up about the anguish of being excluded from the Karnataka team, only to return when no one else believed in him. The versatile right-handed batsman also shared that just two years prior, a prominent personality in Indian cricket suggested he consider retiring and concentrate on making money through T20 leagues.
“I still remember a top Indian cricketer calling me and saying you need to retire because the money in these leagues would make me secure. It would have been easy to do, but I was never going to give up on playing for India again. That was just over two years ago, and look where we are now,” Nair said.
Nair, determined to play for India again, made a bold move from Karnataka to Vidarbha in 2023, which proved to be a turning point for him.
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Expectations are high from Karun Nair ahead of the England Test series
In the past two domestic seasons, he accumulated over 1,500 runs for Vidarbha, including an impressive 863 runs at an average of 53.93 during their recent Ranji Trophy title-winning campaign. Additionally, Nair’s time with Northamptonshire in county cricket was highly successful, as he scored 736 runs at an average of 56.61 over two seasons, highlighted by a memorable double century against Glamorgan.
Nair further boosted his case for selection by scoring a brilliant double century for India A
When Dravid and Ganguly messaged Nair after County success
Apart from playing in the Ranji Trophy, Nair also took the County cricket route. As Nair did well for Northamptonshire, he got congratulatory messages from former India captains Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.
Nair is in the right direction upon comeback
Nair’s position at No. 3 or No. 4 is uncertain, but he has impressed since arriving in England, scoring a double century for India A against the England Lions. Head coach Gautam Gambhir supports giving him a proper chance upon his return.