Karun Nair
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Early life
Karun Nair was born on the December 6, 1991, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan to Malayali parents.
Bagawati Prasad, How a premature birth led to passion for cricket Dec 20 2016 : The Times of India
Karun, father Kaladharan reveals, was a “premature baby“ born just eight months into pregnancy . Interestingly, this contributed to his parents enrolling him in a coaching academy as a kid.
“He was a premature baby . As a kid, he had a few issues as a result of this. He would be a bit fidgety at times. His lung capacity was a bit weak as a kid. Thus, he was advised to do physical activities and exercises. So we took him to the ground,“ Kaladharan said.
They were at times scared whether their son would get hurt. “What if he falls, cries...gets injured...we knew he was a premature baby . We were even scared a few times. But then he slowly developed. I never thought that he would play for India at the start, but when he made it to the Karnataka team I believed he could make it,“ added Kaladharan, whose favourite knock of Karun remains the 328 he scored against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai during the 2015 Ranji Trophy final.
[Karun’s historic innings of 19 Dec 2016 was] the first time Kaladharan, 62, has come to watch his son bat at a venue other than the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Interestingly, mother Prema, a school teacher, hadn't watched her son bat either live on TV or at the ground before this Test, fearing that her presence might contribute to his dismissal. But Karun proved her wrong at the Chepauk.
A great friendship
KL Rahul, the other centurion in the [historic Dec 2016] Test match, shares a great camaraderie with his Karnataka teammate.Rahul and Karun have been friends for the past 14 years and have risen up the ladder at the same time. “Me and Karun have played our cricket together since we were 11. Both our families will be proud watching us play together. It was their dream as well when we started playing cricket,“ Rahul had said on Sunday .
Unlike Rahul, Karun is more introverted. “Karun is a quiet, at times shy guy. He doesn't open up that quickly. He hangs around mostly with his cricket friends. But he talks a lot about Dravid and Tendulkar,“ said Kaladharan.
Early career
Ten facts about Chennai Test triple tonner Karun Nair, 19th December 2016, New Indian Express
Live Mint, 19th December 2016, Karun Nair: Key facts about India’s latest batting sensation
Karun Nair: Quick Facts About India's New Batting Star, DEC 19, 2016 News 18
Karun Nair, who scored a magnificent 303* has become the third batsman in the history of Test cricket, to turn his maiden century into a triple ton.
He is now part of an elite goup of cricketers including the great Carribean all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers and Australia's Bob Simpson in converting their maiden test century into a triple ton.
Nair becomes the second Indian batsman to be the member of the elite 300-run club. Ahead of him is Virender Sehwag, who scored 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004, and 319 at Chepauk against South Africa, in 2008.
He played his junior cricket in the U-15 Karnataka side and eventually represented India's U-19 team.
2006-Dec 2016
2006? Nair made it to the Karnataka Under-19 team at the age of 15 and Ranji debut in early 20s.
2012The right-hander made his senior domestic debut in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
2013He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Karnataka in December against Punjab
2013-14: He made his first-class debut for Karnataka. Made 500 runs in Ranji, with 151 being the highest score.
During his debut first-class season in 2013-14, Nair played a key role in helping his side to sweep the Ranji and Irani titles. He hit centuries in three successive Ranji matches, including the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, and also hit the winning six that ended Karnataka’s 15-year-wait for a Ranji title.
In 2014, he was signed by IPL franchise Rajasthan Royal, becoming a regular in the playing XI, at times even opening the innings with Australian all-rounder Shane Watson.
He has represented two IPL sides, the now defunct Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils. Last year, he was the reserve opener vs Test series against South Africa and Sri Lanka.
2014-15 He scored 328 in the final of Ranji Trophy, while playing for Karnataka.
In the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season Nair scored over 700 runs at an average of 47.26 to help Karnataka retain the title. He was the third highest run-getter for Karnataka behind Robin Uthappa and KL Rahul.
Before Dec 2016 Karun Nair had played for Karnataka in the domestic circuit and has 2862 runs in 39 first-class matches. He played a key role in the team's back-to-back Ranji Trophy triumphs in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
2015 IPL: Tim Southee and Karun Nair while playing for Rajasthan Royals, took a relay catch of George Bailey from Kings XI Punjab, where Tim Southee took the catch on the boundary and relayed it to Karun to complete the wicket.
He was selected for the Test team in 2015 as a replacement for Murli Vijay, but did not get to play in the final XI.
In 2016 IPL auction, Nair was bought for Rs4 crore by Delhi Daredevils, nearly 40 times his base price of Rs10 lakh.
In 2016, he was the second highest scorer for Delhi Daredevils in IPL, after Quinton De Kock, with 357 runs in 15 games, highest was 83*.
2016: Karun Nair made his ODI debut in 2016, as an opener, along with fellow Karnataka batsman KL Rahul against Zimbabwe, when India toured for a three-match ODI series.
2016: The Karnataka batsman made his debut in the third Test that took place in Mohali, and then went on to replace the injured Ajinkya Rahane in the Mumbai Test. He was given the Test cap in Mohali to replace injured K.L Rahul.
The Chennai Test. In which he scored a triple century, was Nair’s third and he was playing only because India’s middle order had lost two of its regular players to injury.
Persistence key to Karun's maturity
After cracking an unbeaten 303 to slay England in the fourth Test at Chennai, Nair was quick to acknowledge the role of `Rahul Sir' and the time spent with India ` A' in his growth as a player. “I think the India `A' tour helps really as there is a big gap between the Ranji Trophy and international cricket. The India `A' series kind of fills that void. Rahul Sir has always been of a big help to me. I've been with him since the Rajasthan Royal days. He has always backed me,“ Nair told bcci.tv on Monday .
Manuja Veerappa, Persistence key to Karun's maturity, Dec 20 2016 : The Times of India
Three years ago, Karun Nair's Ranji Trophy debut against Punjab in Hubballi went unnoticed amid the run feast from his teammates KL Rahul (92) and Manish Pandey (161). Having got out for 21, he returned scores of 13 and 7 in the next encounter.The management persisted with the youngster and in his third game, opening the innings in place of Rahul, he struck a game-changing 232ball 105 against Delhi. His 334-minute stay at the crease on New Year's eve (2013) spoke of his patience, perseverance and ability to handle pressure.
Two more centuries on the trot followed as Karnataka ended their 15-year wait to reclaim the Ranji Trophy.Karun had sealed his place in the team. The innings which changed people's perception about Karun was his 560-ball 328 in the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai two seasons ago. Batting legend GR Viswanath hailed that innings as batmanship of the highest class.
The 25-year-old Bengaluru batsman knows a thing or two about waiting games. He waited for his chance in his state team. In the national side, he was called up as cover for an injured Murali Vijay in August last year, but it wasn't until an injury to his statemate Rahul three weeks ago that he was handed his Test cap. After two failed innings (4, 13) he ensured records fell like ninepins in Chennai on Monday .
Assessing Karun's game, Kar nataka's head coach J Arunkumar said: “He is a very rhythmic player and once he gets into the rhythm, runs are never in short supply. Pressure does not get to him. He doesn't take chances in the 90s, today even at 99, he was calm and composed.He shifts gears very well during an innings. He keeps reminding himself to go back to the basics.“
A man who displays little in terms of emotion, Karun was monk-like even when he reached his triple hundred.“You see an excited Karun only when he is playing football,“ joked Arun, adding: “He has always been a composed guy, but in the mind he is a busy player. He not only plays his game, he also plays on bowlers' minds.“
Karun trashed trolls and created history
Karun Nair had been a victim of Nair-chai-shop jokes in TN
He was badgered on social media with memes and tweets mocking at his below par performance
The trolls had turned particularly caustic after his failure in his first two innings
"Nair apa tea podava vandaru" (Has Nair come to prepare only tea?) "As expected, NAIR is comfortable at TEA" "Drinks boy's message from team to Karun Nair - Thambi, tea innum varale!" (Brother, tea hasn't come yet)
Ever since he was drafted into the Indian Test team Indian batsman Karun Nair had been a victim of Nair-chai-shop jokes in TN. He was relentlessly badgered on social media with memes and tweets mocking at his below par performance. But, Karun's feat of scoring a triple hundred in the recent Test cricket between India and England at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk has silenced trolls and turned memes into cheers.
The trolls had turned particularly caustic after his failure in his first two innings in Test cricket when he scored 4 and 13. But, more than anyone else, the trolls "disappointed and hurt" B Shivananda, Karun's coach for the past 15 years and someone who has seen him struggle through the years. "The trolls hurt me. It showed the mindset of people. I know Karun for more than 15 years and remember the circumstances under which he came and joined my academy. He has worked terribly hard to be in the position where he is now," he says.
A premature baby, Karun had weak lungs as a child. As doctors advised him to participate in physical activities, his parents enrolled him in Shivananda's cricket academy. With Karun's health being his father Kaladharan Nair's priority, encouraging him to play for India was the last thought that crossed his mind. "But I knew Karun was destined for bigger things," Shivananda says.
When the memes on Karun, Shivanan went viral, Shivananda wanted to shield his ward from them. He carefully kept it all away from Karun and his parents."I didn't want to put pressure on him when he had a couple of failures. I thought his focus should be on scoring runs, not on what others say about him. If I had raised the topic, his morale would have gone down. It was my duty to protect him from such things," he adds.
At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, fans revisited the Nair-chai-shop joke as they waited for Karun to resume his innings on the fourth day of the Test match. But, when Virat Kohli declared later in the day that Karun had reached the magical three-figure mark (303*), the stadium roared with applause and Karun was given a standing ovation by the audience.
Barely a few minutes later, the memes turned in Karun's favour with meme creators appreciating the 25-year-old with the same enthusiasm with which they had bashed him. "Nair na tea kada vachukiitu, dum beedi vithukittu, cutting la tea aathi kodukaravan nu nenachaya, Nair da, Karun Nair" (Did you think Nair means a tea shop owner selling beedis? I'm Nair, Karun Nair). It was a take on Rajinikanth's punchline from the movie 'Kabali' in which he seeks to set right any doubt about his true nature.
Shivananda saw this one too and laughed. "I have come to believe that one has to be emotionless. Praise or criticism, there is no point in taking things to your heart or conveying it to your players. Karun is a mature player and knows how to handle things," he adds.
Dec 2016: a superstar arrives
The Times of India
Nair overtook Sehwag's Indian record of youngest Test triple-centurion.
Nair became the first Indian batsman to convert a maiden Test hundred into a triple-hundred.
Nair's 303* is the highest score by an Asian batsman as a maiden Test century.
Karnataka batsman Karun Nair on 19 Dec 2016 entered an exclusive club, joining Virender Sehwag as the second Indian to score a triple-century in Tests. Nair, in his third Test, finished not out on 303 as India declared with their highest score in Tests, a massive 759/7, at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
At 25 years and 13 days, Nair also overtook Sehwag's Indian record of youngest Test triple-centurion. Sehwag - who tweeted his congratulations to Nair - had been 25 years and 160 days in 2004 when he hit that epic 309 against Pakistan in Multan.
Virender Sehwag ✔ @virendersehwag
Yay ! Welcome to the 300 club @karun126 .
It was very lonely here for the last 12 years 8 months.
Wish you the very best Karun.Maza aa gaya!
4:34 PM - 19 Dec 2016
On day four in Chennai, Nair ticked off several individual landmarks for an Indian batsman, including going past Sehwag's 293 and on the way to a rare triple-century.
The other milestones for Nair include becoming the first Indian batsman to convert a maiden Test hundred into a triple-hundred, the first Indian batting at No 5 or lower to reach 300, and the highest score by an Asian batsman as a maiden Test century.
Nair, who played two ODIs for India, got his chance to be a part of the Test squad after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the third Test versus England following a minor fracture on his left thumb. His scores before this match were 4 and 17. During his landmark effort, Nair added 161 for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul and 181 for the sixth with R Ashwin, ultimately helping India gain a lead of 282 in reply to England's 477. It wasn't a chance-less innings, for Nair was dropped on 34 and 217 and should have been stumped on 246 - there were several edges that fell short, too - but full credit to the rookie for shoring up the situation and pressing on from where his Karnataka stalemate Rahul left off.
Virat Kohli declared India's innings as soon as Nair soaked up the applause for his outstanding 303.
2017
Feb 2017: Why Nair was dropped despite triple century
Bench strength is a good indicator of team's depth and India seem to be doing well on that count. Karun Nair, in after an injured Ajinkya Rahane missed out on the fifth Test against England in December 2016, grabbed the chance with a memorable a triple century at Chennai. It highlighted a happy problem of plenty but in Feb 2017, skipper Virat Kohli made it clear that Rahane deserves to walk back into the squad on the weight of his performance over the last two years.
“One game doesn't overshadow two years of hard work from another player,“ Kohli said. “You have to understand what Jinx (Rahane) has done for the team over the last two years. Karun was stepping into his shoes and what he did was remarkable. Sealing a spot as far as the squad is concerned that's what Karun did. But you can't overlook two years of hard work from Ajinkya with just one Test match. He deserves to walk back into the team whenever he is fit,“ said Kohli, making it clear that when it comes to winning Test matches there will be no room for sentiment.
