India's forgotten hero smashes 9 sixes and 13 fours, sends message to selectors: ‘I’m batting as well as I've ever done'

There are only two triple centurions in Indian cricket history. The first one was Virender Sehwag—he has done it twice. But who is the other one? Even if you took a brief pause to answer this, the chances of your cricket fandom being questioned are slim. Such has been Karun Nair's career. The only other Indian cricketer to score a Test triple century apart from Sehwag has been fighting an existential battle ever since that historical knock of 303* against England in Chennai in 2016. Karun did not get an opportunity in the next Test despite that record triple century. In fact, he only played three Tests after that before being dropped from the squad entirely. It has been a constant struggle for him ever since. Karun Nair smashed 124* off 48 balls which included 13 fours and nine sixes in the Maharaja T20 Trophy

Sample this: Karun does not currently have an IPL team. His last appearance in the league was in 2022 for Rajasthan Royals. He has played only eight matches in the last six seasons of IPL. His last Test match for India was way back in March 2017. He could not even break into the Karnataka squads in the 2022-23 season.

But if there is one thing that Karun Nair has learnt over the years is not to give up. He didn't. He moved to Vidarbha and scored 690 runs in the last Ranji Trophy season, helping his side reach the finals, where they lost to Mumbai. His white-ball form was not top notch but it showed glimpses of brilliance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. To prove that he still has it in him to stay relevant in T20 cricket, Nair smashed 532 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 162.69 for Mysuru Warriors in the Maharaja T20 Trophy.

In between, Karun also had two short stints with Northamptonshire in the County Championship. In his first, he scored 249 runs in just three innings, which earned him a second stint, where he managed 487 runs in 11 innings, including a best of 202 not out.

The 32-year-old right-handed batter is nowhere in the reckoning of the Indian side. The biggest proof of that is his absence in the Duleep Trophy squads where the country's top red-ball cricketer, excluding captain Rohit Sharma, star players Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, have been divided into four teams.

‘I’m batting as well as I have ever done': Karun

But that hasn't stopped Nair from dreaming of a Test comeback. "I feel like I'm batting as well as I've ever done. I am in good headspace, and I know where my game is. I am just making sure if I get opportunities, wherever it may be, the focus is on making the most of those chances so that I can climb up the stairs again. It's still exciting to wake up each morning and dream of finding a way back to play Test cricket. That keeps me going. I would love to win trophies; we missed out in the Ranji last year. I will try to correct it this year," he told ESPNCricinfo.

Karun has already shown signs of walking the talk. His electrifying century fuelled the Mysore Warriors to a commanding 27-run victory (VJD method) over the Mangaluru Dragons in the second match of the Maharaja T20 this year. Karun hit an unbeaten 124 that included 13 fours and nine sixes.

"They say a player peaks at 30-31, I would like to believe that's true in my case," Nair said. "The last one year has been good. After last year's Maharaja T20, I had a pretty good domestic season."

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