The Anderson Tendulkar Trophy saw Indian batsman Karun Nair making a comeback to international cricket after a gap of eight years. Nair, who had announced his arrival in International cricket with a record knock of 303 runs against England at Chennai in 2016, had last played a Test match for India against Australia at Dharamshala in 2017 prior to the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The five Test match series in England last month saw him playing in four Tests and scoring 205 runs at an average of 25.62. While he could not convert most of his starts into a big score, the 33-year-old scored an important half-century in India’s first innings’ score of 224 in the final Test at The Oval followed by India winning the Test by six runs to level the series 2-2. Nair believes it’s important for him to let go of what has happened and to make sure that he makes big scores.
“I was disappointed at not being able to convert the start at The Oval into a century. But looking back, it was quite important to grind my way on that first day with the team in a tricky position. I’d done well there previously; I’d gotten a 150 for Northants against Surrey. The nerves were there, but I was feeling good. I was hoping to convert, which I couldn’t. It was an up-and-down series in that sense, and I did reflect a lot. But it’s also important to let go of what has happened and look forward to what I need to do in the next few months. It’s about keeping my focus levels up and making sure I go on and make big scores, irrespective of the level I’m playing at,” Nair told ESPNCricinfo.
The Shubman Gill led Indian team trailed 1-2 after the third Test at lord’s and were in a trickier position in the fourth Test at Manchester before Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja led the fightback on the final day to eke out a draw. Indian batsman did well in seaming conditions at The Oval to set things for the Indian pace attack and Mohammed Siraj took a five-wicket haul in the last innings to hand India a famous six-run win to level the series. Nair talked about how they did not feel the magnitude of the series during the matches but now feel that they have achieved ‘something special’. “We had a good chat, both teams were respectful of the fact that it was a great series. Brendon McCullum mentioned it was the greatest Test series to be played in recent memory. As players, we didn’t feel the magnitude of it during the matches, but looking back at how the moments panned out, as a group, we feel we achieved something special,” added Nair.
It was also for the first time that India were playing a Test series post the Test retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Nair shared how coach Gautam Gambhir told the team that he did not want them to feel in a transition phase.
“Right at the very beginning, Gauti (Gauram Gambit) bhai said, he doesn’t want us to look at it as a team in transition. He didn’t want us to feel that way. The first message we got was ‘this isn’t a young team, this is a gun team and everyone must feel it from within’. The messaging within the group was that everyone plays for the team and supports each other. It’s one thing for the coach or the captain to say it, but to feel it was amazing,” said Nair.
The xx year batsman also talked about how captain Shubman Gill held the team together and was crystal clear in his plans. “The way Shubman held everyone together and the encouragement he gave was great to see. He was crystal clear with his communication from the beginning. To achieve what he did as a batter, while also leading the team…as a leader, he exemplified the spirit of Gauti bhai,” said Nair.
