Karun Nair was 'internally broken', said 'I don't know what to do'; commuted a gruelling 3 hours a day to face 600 balls
Karun Nair found his way back to the Indian Test team after over eight years on the back of stellar performances in the domestic circuit.
Karun Nair has earned a recall to India’s Test squad for the upcoming five-match series in England, marking his first selection in over eight years. The right-hander, who became only the second Indian to score a triple-century in Tests back in 2016, had fallen off the national radar after a string of inconsistent opportunities and was last seen in India whites during the 2017 series against Australia. His recent selection comes on the back of a staggering domestic season, where he piled up 1553 runs across formats and led Vidarbha to the Ranji Trophy final.
The 32-year-old’s return has been anything but straightforward. According to a report from the Indian Express, after being dropped from the Karnataka setup in 2022, Nair turned to his former Karnataka U-25 coach Vijayakumar Madyalkar, with a desperate call for help. He showed up at Madyalkar’s Just Cricket Academy with a simple plea: “I don’t know what to do, sir. Let’s please discuss and do something…”
A WhatsApp group titled ‘Comeback Season’, created with his coach and personal trainer Sai Prasanna, became the centre of a long, silent push to revive his career. The project saw Nair commute three hours every alternate day to the academy on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where he committed to an exhaustive batting routine.
“Six months. Every alternate day, he used to come to bat 600 balls precisely, facing the side-arm throwers and other bowlers in our academy,” Madyalkar told the newspaper.
With no domestic games on offer during the 2022-23 season, Nair opted for a County stint in Northamptonshire, where he hit a brilliant 150 in just his second game. He followed it up with a prolific campaign for Vidarbha, including 883 runs in the Ranji Trophy and a stellar 423 in the knockout stages alone.
“He was internally broken. I didn’t want to discuss why he couldn’t make the Karnataka team. I just told him not to worry, and we will only look at the batsman in him and refine the skills as much as possible,” Madyalkar added.
Nair's comeback
Following his brilliant stint with Vidarbha that concluded with Ranji Trophy title victory, Nair also made a brilliant IPL return with Delhi Capitals in the 2025 season. The batter, in his first IPL game since the 2022 edition, smashed a brilliant 89 off just 40 deliveries against Mumbai Indians. Even as his performances well in later matches, Nair finished the season on a high, scoring a valuable 44 off 27 balls to guide the Capitals to a six-wicket win against Punjab Kings.
The selectors have now rewarded the gritty batter with a national comeback, with Nair’s name once again featuring in India’s red-ball plans; this time, with a shot at redemption in England.
