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"Told Me To Retire For League Money": Karun Nair On Shocking Advice From Indian Cricketer

Kaushik Kashyap

Karun Nair for India A. [Source - HardCricketPix/x.com]Karun Nair for India A. [Source - HardCricketPix/x.com]

India are set to kick-off their 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle in a five-match Test series against England starting later this week on June 20 at Headingley. One of the most key takeaways from the buildup to this series has been the return of Karun Nair to the Test fold for the first time since 2018.

At 33, Nair has managed to live his dream of playing in India whites once again. A rare member of India’s elite triple-centurion club in Test cricket, Nair’s journey back to the national team is nothing short of remarkable.

Karun Nair Drops a Bombshell Ahead of 1st Test vs England

In a conversation with Mail Sport last week, Nair shed light on the horror of being dropped from the Karnataka side to make a comeback when everybody gave up on him. The dynamic right-hander also revealed that just two years ago, a renowned figure in Indian cricket advised him to retire and focus on earning more money from the T20 leagues.

“I still remember a top Indian cricketer calling me and saying you need to retire because the money in these leagues would make me secure. It would have been easy to do but I was never going to give up on playing for India again. That was just over two years ago and look where we are now,” Nair said.

However, driven by his unrelenting goal to play for India again, Nair refused to give up and made a bold move from Karnataka to Vidarbha in 2023, which proved to be a change of fortunes for him.

Karun Nair’s Domestic Dominance Forces Stunning India Test Recall

Over the past two domestic seasons, he amassed over 1500 runs for Vidarbha, including 863 runs at an average of 53.93 in their recent Ranji Trophy title-winning campaign. Notably, Nair’s county stint with Northamptonshire was equally prolific, where he scored 736 runs at an average of 56.61 across two seasons, including a memorable double ton against Glamorgan.

Nair further boosted his case for selection by scoring a brilliant double century for India A against England Lions at Canterbury earlier this month. With Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket and the Indian middle-order looking unsettled, Nair’s return was on the cards, and hopefully a fairytale one for India against England.