33-year-old batsman Karun Naia has made a comeback to the Indian National Cricket Team after more than eight years in an ongoing Test series with the England National Cricket Team.
Returning to India with the opener of the Test series against England at Leeds Headingley on Friday, June 20th, Karun Naia has joined the unique lists of Jaydev Unadkat and Dinesh Karthik.
Also Read: Watch: Sanjay Manjrekar spits poison against Virat Kohli with Kl Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal Shine vs Eng after -ar
Your daily cricket dosage!
Karun Nair returning to India playing XI after 3006 days
The BCCI Select Committee dropped Nair from the Test side against his home Australian National Cricket Team after the border and Gavaskar Trophy 2017.
Following the axis, he was unable to make a quick comeback with the Indian team, constantly ignored by the selectors, and concluded that many would never wear test jerseys again.
However, Nia showed great grit and determination, shattering it in domestic cricket. He consistently ran beyond the domestic cricket format, catching the eye of the selectors.
In the 2024-25 ranghi season, he averaged 54 and scored 863 runs in Vidalva’s nine matches, helping the team win their third Rangi Trophy title. Following his impressive performance, he also received an IPL deal, and he initially worked well with Delhi Capitals (DC).
Nair’s efforts were not in vain and ultimately paid off when he received an Indian recall for the Test Series in the UK. He not only returned to the team, but was slotted in Play XI due to the opener of the Test series against the Ben Stokes-led side.
He returned to the test team on 3006 (8th and 86th). This is one of the longest gaps between the appearance of two tests. Nair missed a total of 77 Test matches between India’s two appearances, and joined Jaydev Unadkat, Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel on a unique list that missed over 70 matches of two appearances.
Most tests were overlooked between two appearances in India:
118 Jaydev Unadkat (2010-22)
87 Dinesh Karthik (2010-18)
83 Parathiv Patel (2008-16)
77 Karun Nair (2017-25)*
56 Abhinav Mukund (2011-17)
The longest gap between two test appearances of Indian players who debuted since 2000:
Jaydev unadkat-2nd year
Dinesh Karthik – 144 days in 8 years
Parthiv Patel – 107th year
Karun Nair -86 days*
I try to keep it very simple, always think about positivity – Karun Nair
Prior to his debut, Karun Naia said he would remain very simple and positive.
“I keep it very simple, always think about positive things, keep certain goals in mind, visualize things and have real beliefs about what you visualize. Playing with Rahul and Prashid is also a very comfortable factor. Perhaps we have been playing cricket since we were young children.
“I’ve left the UK team and now I’m back on the UK team, so life is now a complete circle. It’s been a while and I’ll accept that. My first thought when I woke up (after I was dropped) was to want to play Test cricket.
“It was probably the driving force behind me moving, keeping me hungry, training and practicing every day. I had a goal to play Test cricket again. Every day, every morning, I was awake thinking about what I should do to achieve that goal,” he added.