
India head coach Gautam Gambhir welcomed Karun Nair back into the Test fold with heartfelt praise, highlighting the batter’s resilience and hunger. “Comebacks are never easy,” Gambhir said in a video released by BCCI.tv. “The amount of runs he got, the never-give-up attitude—it’s inspiring for the entire team. Welcome back, Karun Nair.”
Nair last played a Test in 2017, months after becoming only the second Indian to score a triple century in the format. Since then, his career faced setbacks, including being dropped by Karnataka. But the right-hand middle-order batter revived his journey by moving to Vidarbha as a professional ahead of the 2023-24 season. He ended the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 as the fourth-highest run-getter, with 863 runs in 16 innings, including four centuries.
Nair gave a glimpse of his barnstorming form with a double ton against England Lions in the first warm-up match. He was the top-scoring batter for India A in the two warm-ups combined, with 259 runs.
Nair has impressed in England earlier as well, representing Northamptonshire in Division 1 of the County Championship, where overall he averaged 56.61 across 14 innings with two hundreds, including an unbeaten 202.
Gambhir’s backing comes ahead of India’s five-Test series against England, which marks the beginning of the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle.