Karun Nair was destined for great things feels childhood coach Shivanand

Karun Nair scored a career-boosting century yesterday after staying unbeaten on 77 overnight. He just kept going after that and converted one into two and then the double into a triple century. It was a dream kind of knock with everything falling into place for Nair, the risk shots that he played all went through to the boundary and the team management gave him the opportunity with a few extra overs to become the second Indian after Virender Sehwag to score a Test triple.

The entire Indian team was over the moon after their three-Test old batsman played a magnificent inning. Karun’s childhood coach B. Shivanand, Karun Nair’s childhood coach believes he had it in him from a very young age to make it huge. “Even as a pre-teen it was clear that Karun was destined for great things,” Shivanand was quoted by The Hindu as saying.

“He joined my academy (the Koramangala Cricket Academy) on March 28, 2001. I still remember that day clearly. His family had moved to Bengaluru a year before that,” he recalls.

“The first time I saw him, I knew he was special. I told his father that day: ‘Your son is not an ordinary player. He’ll play for India one day’.

“His timing was that good!”

The coach wanted him to compete with the seniors and Karun in his early teens would play along the U19s. “When he was only 13, he played an under-19 inter-academy match in Chikkamagaluru.” he says.

“We were in big trouble at 48 for six, chasing 227. Karun was the opener, and he made an unbeaten 126 to win us the match. We needed nine off the last over; Karun scored 12.”

When Karun walked out to bat in the England Test most people talked about the triple century he hit in the Ranji Trophy 2014-15 final for Karnataka against Tamil Nadu. He had scored 328 runs in that inning to take Karnataka to the title. His domestic coach J. Arunkumar watched the triple ton against England but he wasn’t surprised. “I’m really happy that he got 300, but I’m not surprised. Once he made 140, we knew that rhythm had set in, and that he was set for a big score. We have seen him do this before,” says Arunkumar.

“Contrary to what everyone thinks, when Karun was in the 190s and the 290s, I was not tense. Whenever he gets to the 90s, he plays 20-25 balls and then finishes his century,” he says.

“Karun was most probably thinking ‘I’ll play aaram se (relaxed), you bowl the bad balls, and I will get the century. I’ve got all day’. This attitude makes the bowlers more tense than the batsman,” Arunkumar concluded.