5 Centuries, 0 Dismissals: Karun Nair’s Record Streak Forces Selectors to Rethink

Mumbai: Karun Nair, who smashed a memorable 303 against England in Chennai, was unable to establish himself as a key figure in India's plans for the longest format.

In December 2022, he took to Twitter (now X) and wrote, “Dear cricket, give me one more chance," as his cricketing career seemed to be nearing a devastating end. However, the middle-order batter has significantly improved over the past 12–13 months and is now in contention for national selection.

Nair's outstanding performance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy has been exceptional. In his last six innings of the domestic 50-over tournament, he has aggregated over 600 runs without being dismissed, scoring 112*, 44*, 163*, 111*, 112*, and 122*. The middle-order batsman is yet to be dismissed in this edition of the tournament. His remarkable performance has prompted the Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee to take notice.

His feats with the bat have also propelled him to the top of the list of batters who have scored the most runs in List A cricket history without being dismissed. He is only the second player to record five centuries in a single tournament, following Tamil Nadu's Narayan Jagadeesan. Additionally, only three batters in List A cricket history have managed to score four consecutive centuries, with Nair now joining this elite group.

Following India's debacle in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), the team is likely to enter a transitional phase. In the tournament, star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma struggled with the bat and may not feature in the upcoming Test series. This opens up opportunities for players like Karun Nair, who is reportedly under consideration by the selectors, according to a report by The Indian Express.