India’s Test team is brimming with talented batsmen and Karun Nair has just become the most prominent new name after his record-setting triple century against England in Chennai.
The likes of KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara had already added considerable solidity to the batting line-up, which had looked thin a season or so back when only captain Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay were performing consistently. But Nair has leapfrogged everyone with his magnificent triple ton.
India have been unable to call upon the service of injured duo Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma against England, while Rahane only played the first three Tests. That opened the door for other hopefuls and Nair grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
In this day and age when teenagers are making their Test debuts, comes someone like Nair who started his first-class career three years back at the age of 22. However, the relatively late start meant he was more aware of his game and didn’t waste any time in churning out the runs.
He enjoyed a superb start to his domestic career, helping his state side Karnataka win the Ranji Trophy and Irani Trophy titles. In fact, he scored centuries in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final and the semi-final in the 2013-14 season and also cracked a superb triple century in the final in the 2014-15 season to help secure both titles for his state.
A triple hundred for @karun126 followed by the declaration from #TeamIndia skipper. India 759/7d, lead #ENG(477) by 282 runs pic.twitter.com/q18MnGeo59
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 19, 2016
This appetite to score big and rise to the occasion at important junctures is what caught the eye of the Indian management and resulted in a Test cap. He didn’t enjoy the best start to his Test career, getting run out in Mohali.
Mumbai was a quiet match for him as well, scoring 13 as Kohli struck a double ton. But in Chennai, with India facing a huge first innings deficit of 477, Nair did what he knows best – buckle down and play proper cricketing shots over after over, session after session.
His batting isn’t flashy by any stretch of the imagination, but his scoring rate was nearly 80, which made it one of the quickest triple tons ever scored. Yes the wicket didn’t have any demons in it and it was a tired England bowling attack that had lost its sting.
But the runs still needed to be made and Nair showed that when the going is good, he has the technique and ability to really make it count. What he has also done is give the team management a massive headache when it comes to selection for upcoming matches.
502 Runs Came From 2 Karnataka Batsman Out of Total Of 759.
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) December 19, 2016
Credits To Rahul Dravid Who Found Them.#IndvsEng #KarunNair #KLRahul #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/SfNUFSx5NI
Proven players like Rahane and Rohit are not part of the side, while regular wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha too is unfit, and once they regain their fitness some difficult decisions will have to be made. Currently, the entire batting lineup of Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Nair and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel is in form.
Who do you keep out of the playing XI? It’s a headache for the Indian management but a welcome one. All any up-and coming player can do is perform and that’s what Nair has done.
He started late in his cricketing career but in a span of three seasons, he has gone from a promising and consistent domestic player to only the second Indian triple centurion in Tests.
It is a glorious period in Indian Test batting and Nair has ensured that the cauldron that looked empty after retirements of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag is now brimming with young, exciting and technically sound batsmen.
