The celebrations were low key, both on and off the field. Karun Nair’s reaction on reaching 300 at Chepauk in Chennai was a simple raising of his Grey-Nicolls bat to acknowledge his teammates and 14,500 people on the stands.
Also restrained were his proud parents, watching from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association box on the third floor, bang opposite the players’ pavilion. His father, Kaladharan, has watched most matches his son has played since he was 10; his mother, Prema, was watching him play for the first time. Both stood up and clapped when he completed his 300th run. Later, at the heavily cordoned-off team hotel, there was just enough time for a hug from his parents. It was then that Karun’s face broke into the widest of smiles.
When asked how the family was going to celebrate, Kaladharan, who is into irrigation-related business, paused for a few seconds, smiled and said, “We will decide later.” They had a flight to catch: Prema, a teacher at Chinmaya Vidyalaya in Bengaluru, had to report back to school. Karun’s sister Shruti, ten years elder to him, was in Canada, following the match and being in constant touch with the parents. “It’s a great achievement…. This knock proves that he belongs here,” said Kaladharan, his eyes turning moist.
India’s second triple centurion in Tests is a study in contrast to the first: the irrepressible Virender Sehwag, who scored an unbeaten 309 against Pakistan in Multan in 2004 and 319 versus South Africa in Chennai. “Karun is a reserved guy, [who] doesn’t talk much,” said J. Arun Kumar, his Karnataka coach. “He is not the one to get overexcited. His core nature is to concentrate on the job at hand. He is very sharp that way.”
When Karun walked in to bat on the afternoon of December 18, the only thing on his mind was to make up for the poor scores in his previous two Tests. By the evening of the following day, he had batted for seven and a half hours, erasing the quiet start to his Test career with a historic innings. The 25-year-old from Bengaluru became the third batsman in the world and the first Indian to turn his maiden Test ton into a triple hundred.
Karun was born in Jaipur and raised in Koramangala, Bengaluru. His family hails from Chengannur in Kerala. He started his cricketing journey at age 10, by playing at the neighbourhood academy under coach Shivananda’s watchful eyes. After he was drafted into the Karnataka State Cricket Association Academy, he rose through the ranks to receive Test cap number 287—handed to him in Mohali by batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Remarkable effort: Rahul missed out on his first Test double hundred by one run in Chennai | PTI
The rise of Karun and his Karnataka teammate K.L. Rahul is proof of the efficacy of the cricketing structure in Karnataka, and of the importance of going through the tough grind of first-class cricket. Said G.K. Anil Kumar, who coached both Karun and Rahul in their early years: “Karun had hunger and discipline even as a 12-year-old. He was playing a match against Kerala U-13 and he got a duck; he was inconsolable. I told him, ‘It was okay; you have more matches.’ But he wouldn’t listen. He used to bowl useful off-spin. Only after he took wickets in the second innings did he calm down.”
Karun and Rahul were so good that both of them were made to play against seniors. “These boys would make up for their small physiques with pure talent and tenacity,” said Kumar. “They would never play second fiddle in the higher age group. They felt they belonged there.”
Karun survived a near-death experience last July. While taking part in the Aranmula Vallasadya (boat feast), the snake-boat he was on capsized in the Pampa river in Kerala and he had to be rescued.
Skipper Virat Kohli describes Karun as a “complete package”. “He is someone who could play the pull shot, coming in at 3 when the ball is swinging, and use his feet very well,” said Kohli. “He is lethal against spinners. I have not seen anyone in India play the sweep as well as he does.”
Karun describes the sweep as his favourite shot. “Whenever I need some boundaries, it is my go-to shot. If there are gaps, I go for it,” he said.
Sunil Valson, the former pacer who is part of the team that manages Delhi Daredevils, the Indian Premier League team Karun plays for, said former India skipper Rahul Dravid had played a huge part in Karun’s evolution as an all-format player. “He is technically correct and very focused,” said Valson. “His hunger is his X-factor. To score over 230 runs in a day says it all.”
Both Karun and Rahul have made it to the senior team after clearing stringent tests on their India A tours under Dravid. Rahul, who agonisingly missed out on his first Test double hundred by one run in Chennai, knew that Karun’s innings was crucial for his Test career. “Our families will be proud watching us play together,” said Rahul. “It was their dream as well. We have done things together.”
Said Karun: “At every stage, if he has gone ahead, I have caught up. Or if I have gone ahead, he has caught up. So I think that healthy rivalry is good. I feel bad for him that he didn’t get the double hundred, but I think he will get one very soon.”
While Rahul is aggressive and expressive, Karun is reserved and more clinical. “Rahul is very competitive,” said Kumar. “He has been the captain of every team Karun has played in at every level. Karun has been his deputy. But he doesn’t know Rahul is always concerned about him.”
A Manchester United fan, Karun is fluent in Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and English. He has been so focused on cricket that, much to his mother’s dismay, he is yet to complete his BCom (Hons) at Mahaveer Jain College in Bengaluru. His father, though, is relaxed about allowing his son to chase his cricketing dreams.
Perhaps, the only thing Karun will have to learn as an India player is to express his emotions freely. “I think I will have to get more hundreds for that,” he said. “Till then, there is always the shower to do those things.”
