Vijay Hazare Trophy: Nair amazed by his rich run of form, taking things "one game at a time"

New Delhi [India], January 15 (ANI): India and Vidarbha batter Karun Nair opened up on his dream run in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, saying that he is himself amazed by his run of form and is taking things one match at a time, as far as his Team India return is concerned, ESPNCricinfo reported.
Nair, now playing for Vidarbha since 2023, had a steep fall from being India's second triple centurion in Tests back in 2016 to not even being considered for selection by his state, Karnataka. However, a chat with former Indian cricketer Abey Kuruvilla during the DY Patil tournament in early 2023 helped him find his new home in Vidarbha during the 2023-24 season. Since then, he has been piling runs everywhere, irrespective of the format.
He has been the top run-getter in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 664 runs in six innings, averaging 664 because of being dismissed only once. He has made five centuries and struck at 120.07. In 2024, Nair was the ninth-highest run-getter in first-class cricket, having made 1,466 runs at an average of 44.42, with four centuries and seven fifties in 34 innings with the best score of 202*. He represented not only Vidarbha, but also scored heavily for Northamptonshire in England's county scene, scoring 487 runs in seven matches at an average of 48.70 with a century and three fifties in 11 innings.
Nair's T20 game went on an upward trajectory as well. He topped the run-charts in the Maharaja T20 Trophy by Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), scoring 560 runs in 12 matches at an average of 56.00, a strike rate of over 181, with a century and five fifties in 12 innings with the best score of 124. He also did well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 255 runs in six innings at an average of 42.50, with three half-centuries and a strike rate of over 177.
Things did not look so bright for him when he returned from a county stint with Northamptonshire back in 2024, scoring 487 runs. In a podcast, former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa had asked what the batter needed to do in order to get noticed after he was not considered for the season-opening Duleep Trophy competition. His omission had come after making 690 runs in 10 matches at an average of 40.58 during the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy, in which his performances helped Vidarbha earn a runners-up finish to Mumbai, who won a record-extending 42nd title.
Now having a laugh over that podcast, Nair said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "Funnily enough I said I think I need to score a hundred in every single innings to kind of get noticed."
"I think I may have manifested something like this unknowingly in that chat with Robbie, and that is coming to fruition. At the time of recording the podcast, I was hurting a bit. After scoring runs in England and scoring nearly 700 runs [690 at the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy] to take Vidarbha into the finals, I did feel I could have got a look-in for the Duleep Trophy."
"Initially, right through the first half of the Ranji season, I kept thinking about missed opportunities when I could not convert a few of my starts. But coming into the Vijay Hazare Trophy, I had completely forgotten about it, but I have just kept playing and have kept getting hundreds," he continued.
Reflecting on his struggle to reach back on top, which also included a stint with minor county stint with Burbage & ER Cricket Club in East Wiltshire before his joining Vidarbha, Nair said that he is amazed at the results and focusing on only present as if he is playing the most important innings of his career.
"I think, quite honestly, it is even amazing to myself also to look at the results that are coming about currently. But I would say the only thing I am focused on is cherishing each moment and being present in that particular game. I am not thinking about the past or the future; I am thinking about only that game and playing as though that is the most important innings of my career," he said.
"I do not think in these six matches (of Vijay Hazare Trophy), it has ever come across to my mind that I have so many runs so I can play however the way I want. Yes, obviously, I would be lying if I say I have not thought about the dark days, but I have managed to control those thoughts and kind of rein myself in and say the team needs something else for me and I need to stay there till the end and make sure that I cross the line."
"As soon as there is a stage where I know I am confident that we are through, then that is when I play a little more freely and attacking. So really, I would say it is the process that I followed this year and the last probably is 12-16 months where I've been very thoughtful in each and every game that I have played. I have made sure that it is the most important moment in my career and made sure that I have taken that to every single inning that I have played," Nair explained.
Nair was also brought back to Delhi Capitals during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction last year, a team he once captained briefly. He was unsold during the 2023 auction. Nair feels that tough times are over and there is light at the end of the tunnel.
With a torrent of runs flowing off his bat so fluently and him having enough County cricket and domestic cricket experience, he could be in conversations between selectors when they decide on the Indian team that will visit England for a five-Test series that will kickstart their ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle.
Nair chuckled at the idea of a comeback, seven years after being left out after spending an entire summer in the UK sitting in reserves during the 2018 India tour of England.
"I am quite relaxed actually. I would not be lying if I forgot about everything. But I do not know, the way I feel about my game, in the mind, the way I go about things - it is just different. I just feel different every single day I wake up," he said.
"I am only trying to shift my focus on winning games for my team and performing along the way. Basically, I'm only thinking about that at the moment, which is kind of the right thing to do. Quite honestly, I do not know how close I am [to being in contention for the national. team]. Like I said, again, I just want to take it one game at one time. But yeah, I do not know," he added. (ANI)