Karun Nair looks forward to establish himself in all the three formats

Karun Nair scored a stupendous hundred in Karnataka’s innings victory against Maharashtra. While opener Mayank Agarwal scored his maiden triple century in first-class cricket and became only the third player from the state to do so. Nair’s innings was important from his own perspective considering he had been left out of the Indian Test squad.

He didn’t have a great debut went on to become a sensation as he slammed a triple century against England and became only the second Indian to do so. However, a poor show in the Australian series led to his ouster from the side. He spoke about his mindset right now, lauded Mayank and expressed his willingness to develop his game in all three formats.

There is healthy competition 

Karun didn’t place much emphasis on the selection process and reckoned that his current focus is to score as many runs as possible.

“At the moment that is all what I am thinking of, to put runs on the board consistently; the rest should take care of itself, Only scoring runs is in my hands. I am doing what is under my control. And I want to be an even better player when I come back,” he was quoted as saying by Sportstar.

Having started the season with back to back hundreds, the right-hander has done amazingly well so far. Nair looks forward to ensuring he is prepared whenever an Indian call up comes his way.

“It was nice to get back-to-back hundreds in the Ranji Trophy, It’s important for me to convert my starts into big scores. I want to ensure that I am ready when I get an opportunity to play for India again.”

The 26-year-old is aware of the fact that there is a lot of competition for the middle order spot and said that it is a good problem to have for the national team.

Very happy for Mayank

So far, Karnataka have won all their games in the Ranji Trophy. Nair lauded the coach for the way, the team has been performing. “And it is nice to have P. V. Shashikanth as the coach; I have been working under him since my Under-19 days. He is now an additional comforting factor for me,” he further added.

He praised Mayank who smashed his maiden triple ton. “I am very happy for him. I have never seen him bat with so much discipline.”

I want to be known as a player who could play in all the formats

Having captained the India A side which toured South Africa a few months ago, Karun relished the leader role. He said, “I enjoyed captaining 11 different people from different parts of the country. It was an honour leading the India A team.”

Having been a household name in the Indian Premier League, he wants to divide equal focus in all the formats of the game.

“I have enjoyed playing in the IPL. I always try to play positively, so I don’t have to make adjustments in my batting while I play in limited overs matches. All I need is to make some changes mentally. I want to be known as a player who could play in all the formats. And I know I have that ability,” Karun concluded.