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India vs England: Karun Nair in action. (AP)
When India takes on England in the first Test at Headingley in Leeds, it will also potentially mark the end of an eight-year wait for Karun Nair to make a comeback into the national side. The middle-order batter believes his life has “come to a full cricle” after having been dropped from the Indian Test team in England to making a comeback in England after eight long years.
“Life has come a full circle because I went out of the team in England and now I’m coming back into the team in England. So it’s been a while and I’m trying to embrace that,” said Nair ahead of the first Test to BCCI.tv. The Karnataka batter who now represents Vidarbha in the domestic circuit, justified his India call-up after scoring a double century for India A in the unofficial Test against England Lions in Canterbury.
“My first thought when I woke up was I want to play Test cricket, I want to play for India again. That’s probably what kept me going and kept me hungry. The driving force, go to training every day, go to practice every day. I had a goal of I want to play Test cricket again and I was always looking at playing Test cricket and every day, every morning I used to wake up thinking what should I do to reach that goal,” said Nair.
Nair is expected to fill the void in the middle-order after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their retirements from this format last month.
“Never losing that belief and having that target to reach was something that helped me. Feeling honoured to wear this jersey and honoured to be representing my country. When I saw everyone for the first time, that’s when I really, you know, felt it that I’m finally in the team. Till then it was like a wait for me to kind of start feeling like I’ve made it again. It’s been a few years, I used to always watch everyone on TV, now to be back again in this dressing room feels amazing. You know, getting that first session under the belt was relief, grateful to get that opportunity,” he said.
An emotional yet confident Nair said he is now more forgiving of himself and more patient in life. “Enjoying the feeling of being with everyone. Enjoying the feeling of wearing this jersey. Just going out there and having fun with everyone in the group and trying our best to win games for our country. Mentally, I’m more patient and I’m more forgiving of myself. I’ve learnt to enjoy small things a little more. You know, not trying to be someone that I’m not. I’ve always tried to keep it very simple. Always think about the positive and have certain goals in mind, visualise thing and have real belief in what you visualise,” he said.
English (US) ·