Supremely talented Karun Nair struck a resilient 99 on Day 1 of the second match of Duleep Trophy 2019 for India Red versus India Blue and gave a timely reminder of his potential to the national selectors.
The right-hand batsman hasn't quite had things the way everyone expected him to since scoring a triple hundred in the home Test against England at Chennai in 2016.
He was dropped after failing to perform in the next Test series versus Australia and not picked again until the tour of England last year, when Hanuma Vihari played ahead of him at The Oval despite making the squad earlier and having a prolific run with India 'A' side.
Unfortunately, Karun lost his form thereafter and has found life difficult playing for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy.
But the innings on Friday (August 23) was certainly worth its weight for it came in difficult conditions and showed off the man's temperament and determination at the task.
"I had to grind my way early on, it wasn't easy. The ball was moving around early, and we needed stability at that stage. As a batsman, you have to first play to the situation," Karun himself was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
"I was happy to have been able to fight my way through. It's not as if I made a conscious effort to cut down on some of the shots, but when you show discipline and it pays off at the end of the day on the scoreboard, it feels nice."
"This has come about because of my hard work. I've realised you can't keep throwing away starts, so I wanted to focus that much more. Starting the season well was important."
Karun, who didn't get many chances to play for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL this year, said the time away from the game has really helped him recharge his batteries ahead of the upcoming domestic season.
"I needed the break [after the IPL] mentally. I had time to go away and think about my cricket and where I'm at. I thought about the mistakes and worked towards rectifying it."
"I realised that I needed to just keep batting, even if it meant doing double sessions at times. The time lost can't come back."
"The best way to overcome confidence issues is if you can keep batting and spend long periods. So the last two months gave me that time and chance to work on my game and improve. Hoping it will pay off," he concluded.
Karun's defiant knock, along with an able hand from Ankit Kalsi (48*), helped India Red finish the rain-curtailed Day 1 at the KSCA ground in Alur on 163/2.
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
