15 Interesting Facts you need to know about Karun Nair

Karun Nair, the budding India star was named in the India’s Test squad for England series, 2016. He became the second Indian batsman to score a triple ton after Virender Sehwag. To many, the inclusion of Nair might seem a surprise one. Very rarely does a cricketer earn a call up to the national Test team so early. Though Nair may not have huge experience in the domestic circuit he has been able to impress with the bat immensely and the selectors have shown huge faith in the youngster by picking him ahead of other batsmen. An educated insight would suggest that Nair is one for the future and has great potential of becoming one of the mainstays of the Indian middle order.

Let us look at some facts you need to know about the youngster Karun Nair:

1. Though born In Jodhpur, Rajasthan Nair represents Karnataka in domestic cricket and played for the state in all junior levels.

2. Nair had a great debut Ranji season in 2013-14. He played six matches and scored close to 500 runs including three hundreds with a highest of 151 not out.

3. Karun was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 5^th edition of the IPL in 2012 could not get more than 2 games.

4. He hit centuries in three successive Ranji matches, in the 2013-14 season 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.

5. Surprisingly Nair went four years without scoring a century at age-group level in his teens.

6. In the 2016 IPL auction, he was signed up by the Delhi Daredevils.

7. An avid long distance runner – his minimum distance being 10 rounds of the Chinnaswamy Stadium – Nair had to reduce the laps due to a knee injury followed by a constant heel pain.

8. Karun Nair is a big foodie and says he can not stick to a particular diet plan for more than a month.

9. Nair credits Rahul Dravid a great deal for his development. “To get insights on the game from someone as great as Rahul sir is something that most cricketers only dream of and I am lucky to have spent time with him” Nair once said.

10. Nair was a crucial member of Delhi Daredevils batting line-up in the last edition giving them the much-needed impetus in the middle overs.

11. For Karnataka in the final of the Ranji Trophy in 2014-15, he made 328 in 560 balls making many records. He batted from late on the first day till early on the fourth day. Karnataka made 762 and beat Tamil Nadu by an innings and 217 runs.

12. His record 328 against Tamil Nadu is the highest ever individual score in the Ranji Trophy, breaking a 68-year-old record held by Gul Mohammad’s 319 for Baroda v Holkar at Vadodara in the 1946-47 season.

13. Nair and New Zealand pacer Tim Southee displayed great skills as their joint effort to take a brilliant catch in IPL 2014, it was popularly referred to as the catch of the tournament.

14. Nair had a narrow escape as the snake boat in which around 100 persons were travelling, capsized in river Pampa in Kerala in July 2016. Speaking about this incident, Karun Nair, said, “I didn’t know how to swim. People there rescued me and I was lucky enough to live again.” 

15. He became the second Indian batsman to score a triple ton after Virender Sehwag, when he reached there on Day-4 of the final Test of the series against England in 2016.