Selfie requests soar as Karun Nair back in public attention but remains focussed on his goal to keep scoring runs

For Karun Nair though, the 2nd signifier of the Ranji Trophy opening Thursday, is arsenic captious for him arsenic anybody. It is simply a model of accidental backmost to the cheerful times with the nationalist side. He was stranded playing lone a fistful of games successful 2022-23, without the crest of a First-Class squad to his name.

A mind-boggling Vijay Hazare Trophy play with Vidarbha, rewriting records and manoeuvring the achromatic shot to his wont for 779 runs successful 8 outings astatine an astonishing 389.50 mean has done wonders.

“It would person been truthful overmuch amended for maine if the squad had gone connected to triumph the championship,” admits Karun Nair, aft Vidarbha fumbled astatine the last hurdle against his erstwhile broadside Karnataka past week.

Nevertheless, the cricketing circles successful the state person gotten backmost chatting astir their past Test triple-centurion. Karun Nair realises helium has different changeable astatine winning it each backmost earlier different England tour, 7 years aft the doorway had unopen connected him erstwhile Hanuma Vihari was slotted successful for a debut astatine the Oval astatine his expense.

“Nothing changes for maine (switching from VHT to Ranji). I person been arsenic focused arsenic ever passim the past 12 to 16 months. I americium lone trying to proceed the aforesaid process and things that I person been doing. Contributing to the team, winning games for the squad and that’s astir it,” Karun Nair told The Indian Express aft Vidarbha’s signifier league up of the clash against Rajasthan successful Jaipur.

With Vidarbha comfortably perched atop the Group B standings with 28 points from 5 games, Karun Nair volition resume the red-ball play with 289 runs and a period to his tally from six innings.

Karun Nair, who past played a Test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy successful 2017, has credited the backing from Vidarbha for his revival. Batting astatine his preferred slot astatine No. 3, Karun Nair amassed astir 25 per cent of his full List A vocation runs wrong 4 weeks successful the precocious concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy.

“The magnitude of runs you said shows the magnitude of backing I person got present successful Vidarbha. That besides shows the deficiency of batting I had successful Karnataka and the positions I was batting astatine that point. So I would recognition that to the backing that I person got present to bat astatine fig 3 and the clip that I person been capable to spend,” helium says.

Karun Nair’s time astatine the RCA Academy extracurricular the Sawai Mansingh Stadium crushed was chiseled from his teammates with 3 abstracted hits successful the nets crossed 3 hours. Affirming that helium made negligible tweaks to his archetypal technique, Nair negotiated throwdowns and the nett bowlers with diagnostic restraint, keen connected ‘feeling’ the shot arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable and minimising drives.

The grooming league besides had him flip done his kit for aggregate bat changes, but Karun Nair remained focused connected firming up his defence portion backmost successful connected the strip.

“I mostly emotion to bat done an full tourney with 1 bat. But portion travelling during the Vijay Hazare, my superior bat broke conscionable earlier the quarterfinals. I went into the knockouts straightaway with a caller bat without adjacent mounting it,” helium says. Now, overmuch rests connected his bat: Vidarbha’s Ranji fortunes and his ain India dreams.