New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) India batter Karun Nair, who is making his comeback to the red-ball team after a hiatus of eight years, is excited to make the most of the opportunity in the upcoming five-match Test series against England starting on June 20.

Nair has been in phenomenal form and struck a double ton against the England Lions in the first unofficial Test at Canterbury. In the recently concluded IPL 2025 season, he played eight matches for Delhi Capitals and amassed 198 runs, including a half-century.

The 33-year-old made his Test debut against England in Mohali in 2016 and he went on to hit an unbeaten 303 in his third Test in Chennai and grabbed eyeballs. However, after that historic knock, he only played three home Tests against Australia in 2017 before being dropped from the team due to a series of low scores.

The right-handed batter never lost hope of making a comeback into the Indian team. After switching his base from Karnataka to Vidarbha in 2023, he scored 690 runs in 10 games and followed it with 863 runs in nine Ranji Trophy games in 2024 with four centuries, including one in the finals, which carved the way for Vidarbha to lift the trophy.

Nair also showed signs of power-hitting in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, amassing 779 runs in just eight innings, including five centuries, which prompted the Delhi Capitals to pick him in the 2024 IPL mega auction for Rs 50 lakh.

“Feels really special, very grateful and very fortunate to be able to get this opportunity again and really looking forward and excited to grab this opportunity with both hands,” Nair said in a video posted by BCCI on social media.

“Not sure actually, I’ve to experience that feeling myself and just go out there and feel it for myself. I’m sure there will be a lot of feelings, ones that I can’t express right now and it will be a special feeling,” he added.

In the pre-training huddle, head coach Gautam Gambhir praised Nair’s comeback to the Test side after eight years and said, “Comebacks are never easy. Someone who has made a comeback after seven [eight] years had a phenomenal last year. Last year, no matter the runs you have got and most importantly, that never-die attitude, never-giving-up attitude, that is something which has got you back into the team. That is something which is inspiring for this entire world. Welcome, Karun.”

With the Test retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it is likely that Nair will get a chance in the middle order because of his County experience with Northamptonshire, where he scored 487 runs in seven games at an average of 48.70, including a double century.

Nair’s former Karnataka teammate and experienced batter KL Rahul was elated with the return of him to the Indian setup.

“I’ve known him for a very long time and the months that he spent here in the UK playing cricket and how hard and how lonely it was. For him, to be able to do all of that and comeback to the Indian team is special for him, his family and friends like us who’ve seen his journey. So, like I said, very inspiring as well, and hopefully, his experience and learnings from playing county cricket here will hold him in good stead when he plays the Test matches here,” Rahul said in a video.

India’s all-important Test series against England runs from June 20 to August 4, with Headingley, Edgbaston, Lord’s, Old Trafford and The Oval being the venues. India are aiming to win a Test series in England for the first time since 2007.

–IANS

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