Karun Nair, the India and Karnataka batter, is a good red-ball player, but he hasn’t yet established himself as a mainstay in T20 cricket and hasn't yet achieved success in the shorter format.
He will be soon seen in action for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the upcoming IPL 2022, starting on March 26.
However, Nair has also failed to leave a mark in the IPL so far, and one of the only two triple centurions for India in Tests said that playing different roles for different teams did not help his cause in the IPL.
Nair said in a press release issued by RR: “In my opinion, the reason behind that is that I've never been the kind of the main player in a team in T20 cricket. If you see, whenever I score runs, there's someone else who scores better in the same match (laughs). But I'm not really bothered about that at all -- all I care about and why I play matches is to help the team win.”
He added, “On a more serious note, why people don't see me as a T20 specialist is because I've been asked to play different kinds of roles over the years, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I'm hoping to have a great season with the Royals and just focus on whatever I'm told to do.”
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old has joined the RR camp for IPL 2022 and is looking forward to contributing to the team's success in the upcoming T20 event.
He added, “Obviously, a lot of things have changed since when I was here (at the Royals) first, but this team always feels like home to me. We have a well-balanced side, and I'm enjoying getting to know all the guys here. It's an exciting phase in the history of this franchise and I'm looking forward to playing an exciting brand of cricket, which I know the Royals always strive to do.”
Nair is excited to play under Sanju Samson for the RR in the IPL 15.
He added, “I've always loved playing with Sanju so I can't wait to reconnect with him on the ground. We've had some really good partnerships over the years and I'm really happy to know Sanju, along with Kumar (Sangakkara) and Zubin (Bharucha), have shown the faith in me to bring me back into the team.”
On the other hand, RR spinner KC Cariappa is also looking forward to playing alongside the phenomenal R Ashwin and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the upcoming IPL 2022.
The 27-year-old spinner said, “I've known Yuzi for a long time and have enjoyed interacting with him over the years. Whereas, with a legend like Ashwin Bhai in the team, it's a great thing for me to learn and improve my bowling by taking inputs from him.”
Cariappa concluded, “It's obviously good to be back at the Royals -- my second home. There's a new feeling around the camp, which is obviously also down to the fact that we've got a solid team.”
(With PTI Inputs)
