Karun Nair's first reaction on returning to India Test squad after eight years: ‘Got lot of messages from my close ones’
Karun Nair reacts to being named in the India squad for the upcoming Tests against England. He has made a return to the main squad after eight years.
Right-handed batter Karun Nair made his much-awaited return to the India Test squad for the upcoming five-match series against England, beginning June 20, 2025. The 33-year-old has earned a call-up on the back of a strong domestic season, which saw Nair scoring runs for fun in both the Ranji Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Speaking after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings, Nair said that he was eagerly waiting for this news and he received a lot of messages once the squad was announced by the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.
Karun Nair's performances in the domestic circuit in the 2024-25 season made everyone notice. He first smashed 863 runs in nine matches of the Ranji Trophy, helping his team Vidarbha win the title.
He also amassed 779 runs at a staggering average of 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Before being picked in the main squad, Nair was also named in the India A squad for the upcoming series against England Lions, beginning May 30.
Famously, in 2022, Karun Nair tweeted, “Dear cricket, give me one more chance,” when he was out of the Karnataka state team. A toil for almost two years resulted in the batter changing his team to Vidarbha and ever since the move, Karun Nair has been a different beast altogether.
Speaking about his call-up, Karun Nair said, “First of all really grateful to get back into the team. Really happy and proud. Very fortunate as well. I found out about my inclusion just like you guys did. Was eagerly waiting for the news and I got a lot of messages from my close ones. Have been batting well in the last 12-16 months.”
“It's about keeping my processes the same and going out there and doing the same things that have worked for me and not changing the way I have played,” he added.
Karun Nair had last played a Test for India way back in 2017. He had famously scored a triple-century against England in Chennai. However, a bad outing in the next four innings led to Nair's ouster from the team.
Shubman Gill will lead India in the upcoming series against England while Rishabh Pant will serve as his deputy. Sai Sudharsan, Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav have also been named in the squad while Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana have not found a place.
Nair's knock helps Delhi Capitals win vs PBKS
In the match against Punjab Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Karun Nair played a knock of 44 runs off 27 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes to help Delhi Capitals chase down 207 runs. Sameer Rizvi also played an unbeaten knock of 58 runs off 25 balls.
Earlier, Punjab Kings had posted 206/8 in the allotted twenty overs owing to a 53-run knock by skipper Shreyas Iyer. Marcus Stoinis also chipped in with an unbeaten 16-ball knock of 44.
