During his shortest time since 2022, Karun Nair was asked to retire by a lead star and focus on the T20 League
India cricket team batter Karun Nair is all set to return to the national team after a gap of seven years. The Vidarbha batter last played a Test for India back in 2017 following which he was dropped from the team. Ahead of his comeback in the India vs England Test series, Nair has made a startling revelation.
When Nair was asked to retire
Speaking to Daily Mail, Karun revealed that a prominent cricketer had advised him to retire and focus on T20 leagues in order to secure his finances. Karun received this advice after the 2022 domestic season where he was not only snubbed from the Karnataka team but also went without playing competitive cricket for nearly 14 months. Nair said that while it would have been easy to retire, he would have been kicking himself if he had done so for giving up easily.
“I still remember a prominent Indian cricketer calling me and saying you need to retire because the money in these leagues would make me secure. It would have been easy to do, but I knew that regardless of the money, I would be kicking myself for giving up that easily,” the 33-year-old said as he recounted the incident from two years ago,” Karun said.
Nair found his way back to competitive cricket by taking part in the County Championship. He then made his move from Karnataka to Vidarbha following which he had a couple of really good domestic seasons. His performances in Ranji Trophy 2024/25, Vijay Hazare Trophy and IPL 2025 paved way for his return to the Indian Test side.
“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 knew I was good enough,” Nair added.
Nair has played 6 Tests for India so far and has amassed 374 runs. While batting at number 5, he has amassed 321 runs, which includes his best score of 303*. He recently slammed a double hundred in India A’s 1st unofficial Test against England Lions, strengthening his case for a spot in India’s playing XI in the upcoming five-match Test series.
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