Ravindra Jadeja pushed me to go for triple ton, reveals Karun Nair
Karun Nair, India’s second-ever triple centurion in Test cricket, revealed that it was Ravindra Jadeja who urged him to keep bating and go for the triple ton, reminding him that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Nair remarkably scored a 303 against England in just his third-ever Test innings.
Having knocked the door consistently through his performances in Ranji Trophy, Karun Nair was handed his maiden Indian cap in the home series against England in 2016. The Karnataka man’s Test career did not get off to the greatest of starts, with him just managing to score 4 and 13 in his first two innings, but in his third innings, the right-hander produced a knock for the ages. Walking in to bat with the score 211/3, Nair astonishingly struck a triple ton to sink English hearts and become the second-ever Indian after Virender Sehwag to achieve that feat.
Four years on, recollecting the moment, the 28-year-old revealed that it was, in fact, his batting partner Ravindra Jadeja who urged him to go for the triple century, stating that he will not get a better chance in his life to get to the coveted 300-run mark. Nair also revealed that Jadeja urged him to take his time and not go for the big hits.
"By the time tea time came I was close to 200, but then there were instructions from the team that I had only a few overs remaining (before declaration), but it just so happened that in those eight overs I got 50-60 runs and got close to 280. That's when you're actually thinking about it," Nair told Cricbuzz.
"At that time Jaddu was batting with me and he said 'don't let it go now, this opportunity won't come back again.' I was still in a state that I wanted to get runs quickly for my team. And every time I played a shot Jaddu used to say 'what are you doing? Take your time, the team will wait for you'. He kept reminding me about that."
However, the triple ton, unfortunately, still stands as the only major achievement in Nair’s international career, as the Karnataka man only went on to play four innings post his triple century, in which he combinedly scored 54 runs. Nair acknowledged his achievement and admitted that it will stay in the history books, but insisted that it was time to forget, move on and start a fresh chapter.
"It is quite unbelievable because for the first few weeks, at least, I never imagined myself doing that. It's good to have something like that on your back, it's going to stay forever and it's something that's going to be with me forever.
"Now I've gotten over it and now it's just time to move on. I've said it in a couple of interviews as well, people just kept asking me about it 'It's time you guys also moved on from it and stopped asking me about it.' It's time for better things and try and do better in cricket and take each match as a new match."
The 28-year-old also further revealed that over the years, he has grown close to Rahul Dravid and the latter is now someone who he can rely upon in his life.
"He's (Rahul Dravid) been someone who's always been there for me. Someone that I've really gotten close to and can call at anytime".