After eight years, Karun Nair returned to the India Test squad for the five-match Test series against England. He had been incredible in domestic cricket, finishing as the fourth-leading run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy in the 2024-25 season and as the leading run-scorer in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The team management was impressed by Karun’s progress and called him up for the England series.
He featured in the first Test at Headingley, and with that, Karun joined a rare list of cricketers. He now stands fourth on the list of most Tests missed between two appearances for India. Jaydev Unadkat tops the list with a gap of 118 Test matches, followed by Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel, respectively.
| Matches missed | Player | Year |
| 118 | Jaydev Unadkat | 2010-2022 |
| 87 | Dinesh Karthik | 2010-2018 |
| 83 | Parthiv Patel | 2008-2016 |
| 77 | Karun Nair | 2017-2025 |
| 56 | Abhinav Mukund | 2011-2017 |
Karun notes his feelings about India return
Despite scoring a triple century against England, Karun was dropped from the playing XI in 2017. With time, he was axed from the squad as well, and since then, the cricketer has worked tremendously hard in domestic cricket. He switched from Karnataka to Vidharbha, where the 33-year-old scored tons of runs and became one of the most prominent players in domestic cricket.
Meanwhile, revealing his feelings about being back in the Test squad, Karun noted that he had waited for a long time and used to wonder if he would ever get a chance to wear the Test whites again. Meanwhile, after his return, when he saw everyone for the first time, that was when he realised he was back in the mix again.
“There were times when I was just watching everyone on TV, wondering when I'd get my chance again. So when I walked into the dressing room and saw everyone for the first time, that’s when it hit me — I’m back,” Karun said on BCCI tv.
On the other hand, the veteran is reported to be on his way back to Karnataka in the forthcoming domestic season.
