Follow UsKarun Nair, who has returned to the Indian Test set-up after eight years, has revealed that a “prominent Indian cricketer” once advised him to retire from international cricket and focus instead on earning money through T20 leagues around the world.
The 33-year-old has been in sensational form in red-ball cricket since 2022. During this period, the right-handed batter has scored 2,839 runs in 34 first-class matches at an average of 53.57, including 10 centuries and as many fifties.
Nair, who last played a Test in 2017, has been named in India’s squad for the five-match Test series against England, starting on June 20. He has scored 374 runs in six Tests, including a memorable 303* against England.
“I still remember a prominent Indian cricketer calling me and saying that I should retire, because the money in these leagues would make me secure. It would have been easy to take that route, but I knew that regardless of the money, I would be kicking myself for giving up so easily,” Nair told Mail Sport.
“I was never going to give up on playing for India again. That was just over two years ago—and look where we are now. It’s crazy, but deep down, I always knew I was good enough.”
While Nair has made his way back into the Test set-up, he isn’t looking too far ahead.
“I manifested playing for India. There was a domestic game last year where they played the national anthem and we were standing in a line. I got that feeling of ‘Oh, I need this to happen again’—just picturing myself in Indian whites.
“It doesn’t matter how many more matches I get to play for India. I just want to enjoy it now, because I didn’t make the most of it before.”