Karun Nair feels "very grateful and fortunate" to have another shot at Test cricket, eight years after he last played in the format.
Nair, 33, strengthened his case for a return to the playing XI by scoring a double-century for India A against the England Lions in the first unofficial Test last week in Canterbury.
"Feels really special," Nair told BCCI.tv. "[I'm] Very grateful and fortunate to be able to get this opportunity again. Looking forward to grabbing this opportunity with both hands."
Nair's return comes on the back of a mountain of runs for Vidarbha in the 2024-25 season. He made 863 runs at 53.93 in a title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign. Before that, Nair had an impressive 50-over season, hitting five hundreds in eight innings at an average of 389.50 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
At a press conference to announce the Test squad, chief selector Ajit Agarkar cited Nair's strong domestic performances and familiarity with English conditions as key reasons for his selection. Nair played ten County Championship matches across two seasons (2023-2024) for Northamptonshire, scoring 736 runs at 56.61.
"Comebacks are never easy," head coach Gautam Gambhir told the Test squad prior to their first training session. "The amount of runs you've got, the never-give-up attitude - it's inspiring for the entire team. Welcome back, Karun Nair."
Wednesday marked Nair's return to the Indian dressing room for the first time since the summer of 2018, when he spent the entire five-match series in England on the bench. His only glimmer of hope on that tour, just before the final Test at The Oval, was dashed when the selectors flew in Hanuma Vihari, who was not part of the original squad, from India and handed him a debut.
Ajit Agarkar on why Karun Nair, Arshdeep Singh and Sai Sudharsan were picked for the Test series in England, and why Sarfaraz Khan missed out
At the time, Nair had played six Tests for India and had turned his maiden century into a triple-hundred. But this snub took a toll - his domestic form plummeted, runs dried up and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic left him at crossroads. Having been dropped from the Karnataka squad across formats, Nair spent an entire season on the sidelines.
His comeback, in many ways, began in England in June 2023. Having made a plea to the game for a second chance, he took up a short stint with Burbage & ER Cricket Club in East Wiltshire in the minor counties, where he scored two hundreds and a half-century in eight innings.
A week after he returned home, he received a phone call from a former manager asking if he was available to play in the county circuit. Nair jumped at the opportunity; a valid visa courtesy his club cricket stint allowed him to arrive almost immediately.
KL Rahul, Nair's good friend and Karnataka team-mate, spoke of how his time in England at the time had been lonely and tough.
"I've known him for a very long time," Rahul said. "The months he has spent here in the UK playing cricket and how hard and how lonely it was. For him to be able to do all of that and come back into the Indian team is special for him and his family, and friends like us who've seen his journey.
"It's very inspiring as well. Hopefully his experience and learnings from country cricket here will hold him in good stead when he plays the Test matches."
Eight years on, as Nair stands on the brink of a comeback, the reality of it still hasn't completely sunk in.
"Not sure actually," he said of the prospect of returning to India's starting XI. "I'll have to experience that feeling myself, just go out there and feel it for myself. I'm sure there'll be a lot of feelings, ones that I can't express right now. It'll be a surreal feeling."