Karun Nair joins Dinesh Karthik, Jaydev Unadkat in rare club with Test comeback after 8 years

The 33-year-old batsman Karun Nair has made his comeback to the India National Cricket Team after 8-plus years in the ongoing Test series against the England National Cricket Team.

With his return to the India playing XI in the Test series opener against England at Headingley in Leeds on Friday, June 20, Karun Nair has joined the likes of Jaydev Unadkat and Dinesh Karthik in a unique list.

Also Read: Watch: Sanjay Manjrekar spits venom against Virat Kohli on-air after KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal shine vs ENG

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Karun Nair back in India playing XI after 3006 days

The BCCI selection committee had dropped Nair from the Test side after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2017 against the Australia National Cricket Team at home.

Following the axing, he was unable to stage a quick comeback in the Indian team and was constantly ignored by the selectors, with many concluding that he would never don the Test jersey again.

However, Nair showed great grit and determination and went on a grind in domestic cricket. He consistently scored runs across formats in domestic cricket and caught the eyes of the selectors.

In the 2024–25 Ranji season, he scored 863 runs in nine matches for Vidarbha at an average of 54 and helped his team win their third Ranji Trophy title. Following his impressive performances, he also got an IPL deal, and he performed well for the Delhi Capitals (DC) initially.

Nair's efforts didn't go in vain and finally paid off when he received an India recall for the Test series in England. Not only did he return to the squad, but he was also slotted in the playing XI for the Test series opener against the Ben Stokes-led side.

He returned to the Test team after 3006 days (8 years 86 days), which is one of the longest gaps between two Test appearances. Nair missed a total of 77 Test matches between two appearances for India and joined Jaydev Unadkat, Dinesh Karthik, and Parthiv Patel in the unique list of players who missed 70 or more matches between two appearances.

Most Tests missed between two appearances for India:

118 Jaydev Unadkat (2010-22)

87 Dinesh Karthik (2010-18)

83 Parthiv Patel (2008-16)

77 Karun Nair (2017-25)*

56 Abhinav Mukund (2011-17)

Longest gap between 2 Test appearances of Indian players who made their debut post 2000:

Jaydev Unadkat- 12 years 2 days

Dinesh Karthik - 8 years 144 days

Parthiv Patel - 8 years 107 days

Karun Nair - 8 years 86 days*

I try to keep it very simple, always think about the positive - Karun Nair

Speaking ahead of his debut, Karun Nair had said that he keeps things very simple and remains positive.

"I try to keep it very simple, always think about the positive, have certain goals in mind, visualize things and have real belief in what you visualize. Playing alongside Rahul and Prasidh is also a very comforting factor. We’ve played cricket for so many years since probably we were young kids and grew up together," Karun told BCCI in a video posted on its website.

“Life has come a full circle because I went out of the team in England and now I am coming back into the team in England. It’s been a while and I embrace that. My first thought when I woke up (after being dropped) was I want to play Test cricket, I want to play for India again.

"That’s probably what kept me going, kept me hungry and was the driving force to train and practice every day. I had a goal to play Test cricket again. Every day, every morning I used to wake up thinking what should I do to reach that goal," he added.