Indian batsman Karun Nair has learned the fact that sport can be cruel in a difficult possible way. He faced the zenith and the nadir in a space of 12 months. During December 2016, Karun became the new batting sensation with a Test triple century and by December 2017, he was not even in the probables of the Indian squad. 

Trying to pick up pieces, Nair is now determined to lead Karnataka to Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph as his side will lock horns with Hyderabad in the quarter-final at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Wednesday.

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When asked about his life post triple century, Karun said, “The past one year has shown me everything. It took me to a high and then brought me down to earth. It has taught me to stay level-headed emotionally. You can’t fly high when you are on top as you can come down at any moment. You have to remain the same person. It’s shown me everything in my life in just one year.”

Nair didn’t shy away from stating that he felt frustrated when he was going through a rough patch. He said, “It was frustrating. I was batting well but not converting the starts I was getting. It started frustrating me and it took some time to come out of it. But then I sat back and thought as to why I had started playing the game. I started looking at it that way. And it has helped me.”

Karun Nair goal

Karnataka team is expected to face a stiff challenge from Ambati Rayudu’s Hyderabad, which also has Mohammed Siraj in the line-up. But Karun is looking forward to leading the squad in Vinay Kumar’s absence. He said, “I have always enjoyed captaincy whenever I have got an opportunity. Even when Vinay leads the side, I give my inputs. My theory is simple — when I am batting, I am a batsman and not the captain. Once I am fielding, I am the captain. My immediate goal is to win tomorrow’s game. One match at a time.”

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Karun described that despite Karnataka have had a good season, it is the crucial moments that has been their undoing. He explained, “Throughout the season, we have been doing well but in one off matches, we have lost out on crucial moments. That one moment (fifth day vs Vidarbha) changed the season for us. The problem with Karnataka is that we have set the bar so high in recent years that people expect us to win everything.”

In the series so far, Karun has scored 199 runs with a hundred in five games and now he is more keen to see that Karnataka win the coveted trophy. He concluded, “I am just looking forwards towards contributing in Karnataka’s victories. If we win most games and if I can perform to my potential, I will be happy. But my team must win, that’s my priority. It’s not just, Oh I will always score runs because that’s not in my control.”