Karun Nair will always remember the year 2016 for his maiden Test hundred, which he converted into his maiden double-hundred and later, maiden triple-hundred. Karun Nair, who made his debut in the ongoing series against England, played one of the best knocks on the Indian soil and became only the second Indian batsman to score triple-hundred in Test cricket, after Virender Sehwag.
But, had it not been for his triple-hundred, Nair would have remembered 2016 for a horrific accident that happened in Kerala. In July, Karun Nair survived an accident when he was trapped in a boat that capsized in a Kerala river. Nair battled the deep waters of river Pampa in Kerala after the big snake boat he was in sunk during the famous ‘Aranmula Vallasadya’ (boat feast). The young Karnataka cricketer was going to a temple as thanksgiving for making his limited overs India debut in Zimbabwe.
Karun Nair told Ravi Shastri in an interview that it was a scary incident and he somehow got saved because he doesn’t know how to swim. The young Karnataka batsman said that some villagers saved him and he is very lucky to be alive.
“I didn’t know how to swim. People there rescued me and I was lucky to live again (about the boat accident in his home in Kerala),” Karun told official broadcasters.
Speaking about his historic knock, Karun Nair said that this is the best knock he has ever played and he thanked KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja for supporting him in the middle during his innings.
“This is the best knock I’ve played in my life. There were many situations in the middle when I had to play differently, with (KL) Rahul, (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra Jadeja) Jaddu. I have to thank them for supporting me, egging me on,” Karun said at the end of the fourth day’s play after India took a 282-run lead over England by amassing 759/7.
“The first hundred is always important and I think when I got the first hundred, I didn’t feel any pressure. I was just playing my shots after that,” added the Karnataka youngster.
