'Playing alongside those two is very comforting': Karun Nair plots Test redemption with oldest allies in India squad

Comeback king Karun Nair has been one of the main attractions for Indian Test cricket fans in this post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma era. Nair’s comeback comes eight years after he last played in the format for India. Nair also justified with his return by scoring a double century for India A, in their preparatory unoffcial Test vs England Lions in Canterbury. India's Karun Nair during practice.(Action Images via Reuters)

In the upcoming Test series in England, which is scheduled to begin on Friday in Leeds, Nair is expected to be part of a new-look top-order, which won’t have Kohli and Rohit, who annoucned their retirements from the format recently.

Karun Nair opens up on his India comeback

Speaking ahead of the first Test, Nair opened up on his comeback after stunning domestic performances. Speaking to BCCI.tv, he said, “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.”

“Never losing that belief and having that target to reach was something that helped me. Feeling honored to wear this jersey and honored 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. 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.”

Nair also rejoiced the fact that he would be sharing the dressing room with KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna, revealing that they have played together since childhood. “I try to keep it very simple, always think about the positive, have certain goals in mind, visualize things and have real belief in what you visualize. Playing alongside Rahul and Prasidh is also a very comforting factor. We've played cricket for so many years since probably we were young kids and grew up together,” he said.

Nair’s return comes after he registered 863 runs at 53.93 for Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy-winning team. Before that, he smacked five tons in eight innings at an average of 389.50 at the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

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