Cricket may have given Karun Nair a second chance, but his time is running out

India Today

6 hours ago

It was a true Cinderella story when Karun Nair reaped the rewards for his consistency on the domestic circuit and was handed a chance to return to the Indian Test team after a gap of 3006 days. That time period seems like a lifetime in cricket — you may be a star one day and then completely forgotten the next. But Karun's comeback had merit.advertisementHe played a pivotal role in Vidarbha's triumph in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, finishing as the fourth-highest run-getter of the season. He scored 863 runs from 16 innings at an average of 53.93, including four centuries and two fifties. Then came the exploits in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which were just surreal — 779 runs from eight innings at a staggering average of 389.50 and a strike rate of 124.04, featuring five hundreds and a fifty.ENG vs IND, 2nd Test Day 2: Highlights
He wasn't just knocking on the door, he was breaking it down. The IPL came around, and we all remember how he was able to rile up the great Jasprit Bumrah, whom he rushed to hug after his five-wicket haul at Lord's. When he reached the England shores, Karun made an instant impact, scoring a double hundred against the England Lions and pushing his case. Then came the reward. Cricket gave him the chance, and the world rejoiced. But the story is currently playing out in a very different fashion.The story so far...Karun was batting at No.6 in the first Test, and his return wasn't what he would have hoped for — a four-ball duck and then batting at a strike rate of 37, scoring 20 off 54 balls while India looked to extend their lead beyond 400.The Edgbaston Test saw flashes of brilliance as he scored 31 but failed to convert it. Then, in the second innings, he looked to be in fine touch once again, but only got 26 before getting out. The Indian team management gave him another chance at Lord's.The 33-year-old came in to bat with India in big trouble as Jofra Archer was steaming in and had just dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal. Karun and KL Rahul faced the music till tea and slowly, the duo started to get moving.And it was Karun who seemed to be a bit more aggressive, getting those strokes going. He looked to be playing with soft hands and being careful. But then, when you don't have luck on your side, you just don't have it.He found an edge playing away from the body, and Joe Root produced a blinder. The Indian batter was back in the hut for 40. Another innings that promised a lot, yet failed to deliver.advertisementKarun now has 117 in 5 innings. For context, Shubman Gill, at the same time, has 601 runs from the same number of innings.What's going wrong?Well, not a lot is going wrong for Karun. He is playing well but seems to be finding ways to get out at the moment. Even the ball he got out to on Day 2 wasn't unplayable — yet he found a way to get dismissed. This was something that Cheteshwar Pujara commented on to the broadcasters.'He will have to find a way because he went into bat when things were difficult. It was challenging for him to negotiate that spell. He is always going past that difficult phase, and then he gets out. He will have to be mentally a bit more tough, try and ensure that he's looking at that landmark of 50. He was batting on 40 today. And it wasn't a bad ball. He got a good ball, but it wasn't an unplayable ball.""It was his mistake when he was playing away from the body. He will have to find a way. He will have to find a way to get past 50. Then mentally, you are a bit more relaxed, maybe not 100," said Pujara.advertisement"But when you go past that 50-mark, mentally, you are relaxed. As a batter, you don't feel that pressure anymore. But this was a good ball, but it wasn't a ball where you can get out."Pujara also pointed out some technical issues with Karun, saying that the Indian batter is getting stuck in his crease, which is leading to the errors.'So, as a batter, he was stuck on the crease. That is something which is slightly worrisome.''I've been saying that he needs to move his back foot. If he can just bend quickly, either move on back foot or maybe try and get on front foot, because when you get stuck on the crease, that's the time when you tend to feel the ball and make those errors. So I hope that he learns that quickly and scores runs in the second innings,' said Pujara.The competition is heating upFor Karun, time is running out. And the competition for his spot is heating up. Sai Sudharsan, who would feel a bit undone to lose his spot after showing his talent in the first Test, is waiting in the wings. Then you have another domestic stalwart in Abhimanyu Easwaran, who seems to be patiently biding his time for the right moment to come in and make an impact.advertisementEven Dhruv Jurel — someone who scored 227 runs during the unofficial Tests against the England Lions, including three fifties — looks eager to be back in the mix after his impressive debut in Tests. This puts the scanner firmly back on Karun, who now has three top players breathing down his neck.Pujara also feels that six innings are more than enough for a batter like Karun to make his mark on the series. A failure in the second innings, according to Pujara, could spell disaster for the 33-year-old."Look, if he doesn't score runs in the second innings, then they will be looking at someone like Sai Sudharsan because he would have got an opportunity to bat in 6 innings by the time he bats in the second one, and if he hasn't scored a 50, then team management will look at Sai Sudharsan because that's good enough opportunities."'When he walked in, things were challenging, but the time when he got out, it wasn't that challenging. It wasn't very challenging for a batter to negotiate and he needs to make the most of his opportunities because when you are playing at the highest level, when you're playing for the Indian team, you don't get too many opportunities. So he will have to capitalise. I think that he will have to score runs in the second innings, otherwise team management might look at Sai Sudharsan for the fourth match,' said Pujara.Stories like this on our film screens always have a fairytale ending. They end with the hero scoring the winning runs or getting redemption in the form of a hundred. For Karun, neither of those things has happened yet — and it looks like his story, or at least this chapter, is coming to an end.- EndsMust Watch