Prolific batter Karun Nair's shift from Karnataka to Vidarbha in the last Ranji season finally helped him to secure a berth in the national team and re-launch through his selection to the 18-member Indian squad for next month's tour of England.
The real turnaround in his career came along with his shift to Vidarbha from Karnataka, where he was increasingly finding it difficult to get a place in the first eleven. Vidarbha, who were on the lookout for a seasoned pro in their batting line-up then, welcomed Nair gleefully to their ranks.
The right-hander did not disappoint his new side either, racking 690 runs from 10 matches with two hundreds and three fifties. Nair pushed his stocks another rung up in the 2024-25 season, amassing 863 runs from nine matches, averaging 54 with four hundreds.
To top it, the Bengaluru batter scored 779 runs from seven matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament with five centuries, and his average stood at an astronomical 389.50.
Nair was not just knocking on the doors but he crashed through them with those performances, as his inclusion in the Indian team became a topic of national debate.
“That's what he always wanted to do — score runs, get back to Team India. From Day 1 at Vidarbha camp, he would tell us that I have another 3-4 years of cricket left in me at the highest level. It's glad that he finally managed to achieve it, and we are all proud of him,” Usman Gani, the Vidarbha coach, said.
Nair's stellar run helped Vidarbha bag the Ranji Trophy in the 2024-25 season, but unnoticed by many, it helped him come out of a dark cellar.
Nair was reborn. The confidence in his skills multiplied. He began to open up more to other players in the dressing room.
“I think the issue when he came to us (Vidarbha) was his apprehension over his abilities. But once he got a regular chance to play domestic cricket against quality opponents, the confidence returned.
It can be safely said that he blossomed along with the team. He never looked like a stranger in the dressing room and we took extra care not to make him feel like an outsider as well. He just needed some big and consistent runs. He got it here along with a relaxed environment and it opened up him as a cricketer,” said Gani.