"I still feel like that same kid who hit that six" - Karun Nair's journey has been a long one, but he's not done yet [Exclusive]
It's often believed that home is not a place but a feeling.
A feeling that Karun Nair must have certainly resonated with when he walked out to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru for the start of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 2024. It's a ground where he fosters a lot of fond memories and has scored truckloads of runs to cast himself as a seasoned campaigner and an Indian Test cricketer.
August 2024 has marked a homecoming of sorts for Karun, who took the big call of moving out of Karnataka to ply his trade as a professional player for Vidarbha last season. But the comfort of 'home' has never really gone away considering the way he has been striking the ball all around the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Leading last year's runner-up Mysore Warriors again, however, the batting stalwart has rekindled his magnificent form from 2023 in his team's pursuit to go one step better this time and clinch the Maharaja Trophy 2024. 346 runs at an average of 49.42 and a staggering strike-rate of 190.10 with a highest score of 124* reiterates the stellar form he has shown batting at No. 3.
"It's obviously a great feeling', Karun tells Sportskeeda in an exclusive chat prior to the start of the tournament. "It’s a place that I call home and I’ll always call home. It’s where my heart lies. Obviously it’s a surreal feeling to play at home. It’s a ground that I’ve had very fond memories at."
Returning to a setup and ground of familiarity obviously helps. But it was a new beginning for Karun, now 32, when he shifted base to Vidarbha a year ago.
The team enjoyed a fine run in the Ranji Trophy, making it to the summit clash before Mumbai got the better of them. Karun had a decent season with the bat himself, compiling 690 runs from 10 matches at an average of 40.58 with three fifties and two centuries to go.
The transition from one domestic giant in Karnataka to another that has been consistent in the first-class circuit over the last few years was a seamless one though.
"I think it was an amazing experience. Everyone welcomed me with open arms. They helped me feel like I was part of their family for a long time. For that I’m very thankful I was not made to feel like an outsider at all. Obviously we did really well - me as an individual and as a team. We got to the final, had a few good performances. Yes we came short in the final which is something that we’ll be looking to rectify this year. Really excited for the season ahead. I’m sure we’ll do well.
"Obviously it’s different when you’ve played all your cricket in Karnataka and moved to Vidarbha. Two different cultures - it’s different but it’s good in a way as well," states Karun.
"It was a goal of mine to score a 200 and not a 300" - Karun Nair opens up on stint with Northamptonshire
Think Karun Nair, and that knock is always bound to spring to mind. Of course you know which one we're talking about...
Yet, it almost inevitably follows with a thought of 'what went wrong', for Karun played just three more Tests post smashing an unbeaten 303 against England in only his third Test in Chennai. It wouldn't be wrong to suggest that the man himself has heard enough and more of that innings.
While he has been out of the Indian selectors' radar for a while, Karun bagged a short stint with Northamptonshire in Division One of the County Championship last year. He scored 249 runs in three matches at an average of 83, including a best of 150 against eventual champions Surrey.
The Northants were relegated to Division Two this year but Karun earned another gig with the club. 487 runs at an average of 48.70 in seven matches followed with a stunning unbeaten 202 against Glamorgan standing out.
When asked about his experience in the County Championship, he said:
"It’s a great opportunity for every batter to go and play in English conditions. I’d like to thank Northamptonshire for giving me that opportunity. It’s been a great experience to go and play in English conditions. It’s obviously different from playing Ranji Trophy. The conditions are different, the ball is different. Everything is new when you go there. All I’ve tried to do is try and give my best and try and improve each and every game and learn how to play in those conditions."
The 202* happened to be Karun's first double-hundred that he hadn't gone on to convert to a triple. And interestingly enough, it was an objective he was keen to tick off.
"I’ve been really happy that I’ve been able to score a few hundreds there and score a double-hundred this year as well. That is something I had set myself to do because I have got a hundred, I’ve got a 300 but I’ve never got a 200 in first-class cricket. So it was a goal of mine this season to score a 200 and not score a 300 for a change because everyone talks about that 300 (against England). So I wanted to get that out of the way as well. Hopefully I’ll have another target this season," explains Karun.
Karun has always taken to first-class cricket like a duck to water. But the ever-evolving nature of the T20 format has forced batters to adapt and evolve, expanding their range of shots in the process.
It was on display with Karun's umpteen reverse-sweeps over third man in last year's Maharaja Trophy. Always a fine player of spin, this expansion of range enabled him in throwing the spinners off their radar.
"It’s important to keep moving with the game, keep evolving as a player, keep getting better at your own skills," says Karun. "I’ve always been someone who can play every shot in the book. It’s just about if I was confident enough to play it or not or was I comfortable enough with making that shot come into my game or executing that shot. I was really happy with how I did last year so I was trying to follow the same processes, trying to get better at everything I did last year and hopefully, I can do better this year."
With regards to the Maharaja Trophy in particular, Karun has rubbed shoulders with RX Murali, the Warriors' head coach and a man carrying a burgeoning reputation for his acumen with power-hitting skills in particular.
Opining that while the Warriors' batters were assigned certain roles, Karun stated that they are given the freedom and flexibility to play T20 cricket their own way.
"Each individual knows how to play the game in a different way and that’s what’s special about our team - we have so many different kinds of players who can play in different ways. Every coach and RX sir has his own tools that he brings along for power hitting. We’ve been lucky enough that we’ve had ten days in Mysore with the whole ground at our disposal to go out there and prepare for this tournament. And we’ve tried our best to prepare as well as we can," says Karun.
The 10-day camp Karun talks about would have been critical when you consider the fact that each team in the Maharaja Trophy pretty much had to build their squad all over again save for four retentions. With the player auction taking place just three weeks out of the season opener, it gives teams very little time to gel together and hit the ground running.
Does the timeline starting with the player auction until the end of the tournament all feel very crammed then with continuity in the team composition not a certainty?
"Well I’m no expert at this because I haven’t even thought of such things," expressed Karun. "I’ve left that kind of headache to the owners and our team management. But if you ask from a player’s point of view, you’d obviously want the same team every year so that we can try and get better as players and try and fill in certain positions that we think are important. From a player’s point of view, that would be my opinion at least but like I said I’m no expert and I am nobody to make any decisions here. It’s just my opinion."
"I enjoy doing well in tough situations" - Karun Nair looks ahead to the upcoming domestic season
Karun Nair and daddy hundreds are synonymous with each other. With bat in hand, he is the epitome of patience and comes across as someone within his own bubble who bowlers have no answers to on his day.
Perhaps that comes down to something specific with his off-field training routines?
"I’m not sure actually because I just try to do my best and try to help the team in any kind of situation," he says. "I enjoy doing well in tough situations when my team needs me to do well, which is something that I’ve been really proud of myself for. I’ve been lucky enough to do it on a few occasions and I’m looking forward to doing it again. Scoring big runs is something that I always think about. I don’t like to give away my wicket once I’ve scored some runs. I’m never happy with just a hundred."
Focusing on the controllables is often thrown around as a cliche but with Karun, you know that he's at a stage in his career where he's focused on those alone. Even if it means he has to start all over again in the new season in pursuit of honors in the IPL and international cricket.
"Every season, you go in thinking that you have to do as well as you can. Every game I get, I need to do well, perform at the highest level and to my potential and see where that gets me. Last year I was the highest scorer in the Maharaja Trophy but I still didn’t find a place in the IPL which was quite disappointing but that’s something that I have no control over. Scoring runs is what I can do and I’ll try and do that again this year and keep trying to score runs in every game that I play," says Karun.
The start to the 2024 domestic season has been a good one from an individual point of view for Karun with runs coming in the Maharaja Trophy. While he isn't a part of the squads named for the Duleep Trophy, he will be keen to set the ball rolling for Vidarbha once the Ranji Trophy gets underway on October 11.
Karun knows what it is to win the coveted title after all. He was one of the cornerstones of Karnataka's 'double treble' across the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, sealing the Ranji title in the first of those with a six and smashing his way to 328 to aid a successful title defense in the second.
Over a decade in the domestic circuit has made him wiser for the better and he looks back at the journey so far with a smile while being determined to tick off the ultimate box - wearing the Test whites again.
"Ah, well, time has flown by. I still feel like that same kid who hit that six to win the game (Ranji Trophy 2013-14 final). It’s been a great experience so far. I’d like to keep improving as a player, as a person and keep going ahead. The goal is always to play Test cricket for India. I wake up every morning thinking about that. Hopefully it happens again and all my efforts and thoughts are going into that," says Karun.
He might be on the wrong side of his thirties but Karun is focused and motivated as ever. The way he's been batting over the last year or so, few would deny that he's still got plenty to offer. Whether a remontada awaits in the IPL and for India remains to be seen. Right now, there's just one immediate target - complete a happy homecoming by lifting the Maharaja Trophy before jetting off to Vidarbha to add more to his cabinet!