Karun Nair's old 'plea to cricket' goes viral as he makes comeback after nearly 3,000 days
India Test squad: Karun Nair returned to the Indian Test team after eight years as BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming England tour on Saturday.
After waiting for nearly 3,000 days, Karun Nair finally has a second opportunity to make his mark in international Test cricket. The right-hand batsman has been selected for India upcoming tour of England which begins on June 20. While a lot of social media users praised his persevrance and committment to the game, others also found an old tweet of his seeking one more chance.
"Dear cricket, give me one more chance," Karun Nair had posted in December 2022 on X (formerly Twitter). Since the announcement of India's Test squad, the tweet has gone viral with hundreds of users reposting it.
The 33-year-old right-hander, who once lit up the cricketing world with a historic triple century in just his third Test match, could again don the India jersey in the five-match Test series against England. Nair’s selection marks a comeback after a staggering 3000 days since his last appearance in the whites, against Australia in Dharamsala in 2017.
Once hailed as Indian cricket’s next big thing, Nair's journey since that record-breaking 303 (not out) against England in 2016 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. Despite that monumental performance, he found himself out of favor and eventually off the selectors’ radar, with form, fitness, and opportunities failing to align. But he never gave up.
Instead of fading into oblivion, Nair returned to domestic cricket and silently rebuilt his career - one innings at a time. In the 2024–25 domestic season, he emerged as one of the most consistent performers, scoring 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy games with four centuries for champions Vidarbha. He also dazzled in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, amassing 779 runs in just eight innings, including five centuries.
The viral tweet, just five words long, has become the symbol of his resilience - a simple plea that resonated with fans and players alike.
Praising Karun Nair, one X user wrote, “Hard work pays off. Welcome back, Karun Nair.”
“Make this one count, we believe in you,” wrote another X user.
India’s squad for England Tests
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
