I've learnt unforgettable lessons: Karun Nair

Nair also led Delhi Daredevils in a few games in the IPL last season. © BCCI

A year is a long time in sport. Karun Nair knows that. On December 19 last year, he became only the second Indian to score a triple hundred in Test cricket, joining Virender Sehwag in that exclusive club.

Three months later, when he played the home series against Australia, he returned figures of 26, 0, 23 & 5 in the four innings played over three Test matches. He hasn't made it to the Indian team since, but the passage of time has taught him invaluable lessons. He roughed it out in a South Africa tour with the India 'A' team and faced New Zealand 'A' at home apart from the IPL, Duleep and now Ranji Trophy.

In the lead-up to the first anniversary of his milestone knock, Karun admitted the feat was on his mind. But it wasn't all he was thinking about. He was busy bailing his beloved Karnataka out of deep waters in the semifinals against Vidarbha. Karun celebrated his epic India effort with a defining 153 in the Ranji Trophy clash which unfortunately went in vain.

Coming back to December 19, 2016, Karun has felt the heat of expectation that comes with a mighty knock like his unbeaten 303 (against England, in Chennai). In an exclusive chat with TOI Karun explained, "I started expecting too much from myself. It took me a long time to realise I was being too hard on myself. It came to a point when I had to do something about it and the best thing I could do was to let go."

"I started playing cricket like I did when I was a schoolboy. I started enjoying middling the ball. I'm still working on it because it can't change in a couple of months. Now, I'm not into numbers, or even if I don't do well, I know there is another game coming up," he says, "In the past year, I have seen the highest of highs and lowest of lows. Good that I have experienced all that in the early stages of my international career. Going forward, this one year will help me improve my game and get me stronger mentally. I've learnt unforgettable lessons."

The 26-year-old says he has learnt to balance success and failure, big scores and lost opportunities. "It doesn't matter if you score or not, but it is important to be in a happy state of mind. When I've done well I was happy, but when I didn't do well, I questioned myself, I wondered why my hard work wasn't paying dividends. I was doubting myself. In the last few months I have learnt to deal with situations better. I'm not overly worried about results. In the last three months, I haven't had expectations from myself. I just wanted to express myself on the field. I started to focus on the process."

Karun, who scored 328 against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy final in 2014-15, credits his new-found balance to mind coach Shree Advani. "He has been helping me stay in a good state of mind," he says.

Despite the progress he has made, the middle-order bat admits, being left out of the squad for the tour of South Africa has been tough. "I'm disappointed that I didn't make it to the 17 for the tour of South Africa. The past year, I've got a triple hundred and then a few hundreds on the domestic circuit. I thought I had some good knocks backing me. It took me the last couple of days to get over it. It did affect me in the last match, the quarterfinals against Mumbai," he says, "I was really unhappy about my mindset in that game. I shouldn't have allowed my disappointment affect my game."

The Bengaluru boy, who has led Delhi Daredevils in a few games in the IPL, adds, "I hardly got a few chances after the triple hundred. I'm waiting for another opportunity and I know when I get that, I will be better than what I was a year ago. This year, I have worked harder than I have worked ever before."