Revision as of 15:03, 20 December 2016

Karun Nair, 2015

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

Sports.NDTV.com

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

Karun Nair, a factfile: 19 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.

Dec 2016: a superstar arrives

Karun Nair, 19 Dec 2016
The Times of India

(India v England, 5th Test: Karun Nair becomes second Indian to score 300 in Tests Jamie Alter | TNN | Dec 19, 2016, The Times of India)

Karun Nair, achievements as on December 20, 2016; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, December 20, 2016

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.

See also

Cricket, India: A history (2016)