Very rarely does a cricketer earns a call up to the national Test team directly as players get a chance only after performing in coloured clothing, but Karun Nair has bucked the trend. The youngster has been selected for the third and the final Test of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka as the team suffered a major blow with Murali Vijay and Wriddhiman Saha being ruled out of the series.
Naman Ojha has been asked to replace Saha to keep wickets. Both Ojha and Nair must be delighted to get a chance in the Test team for India. Nair feels it is a dream come true.
"Obviously, it's a dream come true and I am very happy about this call up," PTI quoted Nair as saying.
Though Nair may not have huge experience in the domestic circuit as he has only played 23 first-class matches, he has been able to impress with the bat immensely and the selectors have shown huge faith in the youngster by picking him ahead of other batsmen.
Nair has been in good form, but it was his performance against Tamil Nadu during the Ranji Trophy final, where he scored a triple hundred and shot into limelight. Apart from his Ranji final performance, Nair's ton against the strong-looking South Africa A side a few days ago might have prompted the selectors to give him a chance in the Indian team.
"I believe one of the most important knocks has been the triple century that I scored in the Ranji Trophy final against Tamil Nadu, last season. It gave me a lot of confidence just like this century against South Africa A. When you score runs at this level you gain a lot of self confidence," said Nair.
However, it will be interesting to note if Karun Nair, who replaces opener Vijay, gets a chance to earn the Test cap for India, which looks difficult in the third Test at SSC in Colombo with players such as Chetweshwar Pujara in the reckoning as well.
In fact, India have a number of players, who can open the innings. Ajinkya Rahane is a regular opener and Rohit Sharma opens the innings for India in the ODI. If required, Cheteshwar Pujara, who recently opened the innings during the second Test match against Australia A in Chennai, can also do the job alongside KL Rahul.
