Karun Nair will mark his Test return in Headingley.
Prolific batter Karun Nair made a much-deserved return to India’s playing XI for the Headingley Test against England. This put the full stop on the prolonged 77-Test absence from his last appearance in the whites. Nair etched his name into a unique list of players who made a national comeback after being out for brief periods. His comeback, nearly eight years after, might inspire cricketers who have lost hope of an India return.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 Indian players with the longest gaps between their appearances.
The left-arm seamer is the Indian with the most missed Tests between two matches. The Saurashtra pacer missed 118 Tests in between, the second-highest in world cricket. Only England’s Gareth Batty (142) has missed more matches between two games in Test cricket’s history.
Unadkat’s debut dates back to 2010 against South Africa at Centurion on December 16. He was recalled in 2022 as a replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami during the Bangladesh tour. Unadkat donned the whites in the second Test after 12 years. He featured in two more Tests against the West Indies in 2023. He has played all of his Test matches away from home. However, he managed only three wickets in four Tests, with all scalps coming against Bangladesh.
Karthik was away from the red-ball scheme of things for eight years. He made his debut in 2004 against the mighty Australian side in Mumbai at the age of 19. He was in and out of the team till 2010 before he was dropped from the side. The Tamil Nadu stumper was recalled as a replacement for an injured Wriddhiman Saha in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in 2018.
However, his comeback wasn’t for a long time. He played only three Tests on his return before Rishabh Pant took over. Karthik played 24 Tests and managed 1,025 runs across 42 innings. He averages just 25.00, which includes a century and seven fifties.
Making his debut as a teenager against England in Nottingham in 2002, Parthiv Patel endured the third-longest wait between appearances. He played most of his Tests from 2002 to 2004. He was dropped after a Test against Sri Lanka in 2008 for a brief period. In 2016, Parthiv made a comeback to the Test team after an eight-year absence. He replaced the injured Saha in the third Test against England in Mohali.
However, Parthiv played one more Test before Saha replaced him in the final game of the five-match series. He drew curtains on his international career in December 2020. He ended with 25 Tests (38 innings), 934 runs at an average of 31.13 with six half-centuries.
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Nair is the only Indian to convert his maiden Test century into a triple hundred. His exclusion post-2017 remained a talking point among fans and critics for a decade. However, the Vidarbha batter entered the Indian Test team following a stunning domestic season across all formats last year.
The right-hand batter even justified his selection with a double century for India A in the first unofficial Test against England Lions. Eventually, his hard work and perseverance have paid off, finds a place in the playing XI. The 33-year-old has earned a second chance to revive his red-ball career and would love to stamp his authority. Notably, it will be his first Test away from home.
Opener Abhinav Mukund made an Indian team return after nearly six years. But, with players like Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, and Mayank Agarwal waiting for their opportunity, he failed to have a long career. Mukund made his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies in Kingston. He played five Tests for India in 2011, but couldn’t make an impact. He managed just 211 runs in 10 innings. After a series of failures, he was dropped from the squad. Abhinav last played for India in August 2011 during the tour of England.
Though he played for India A on several occasions, he could not make it back to the Test squad. He was then included in 2017 on the back of his 849-run Ranji Trophy 2016-17 season. He was named as back-up opener for a one-off Test against Bangladesh, but didn’t get a chance to play. However, he featured in the game against Australia and Sri Lanka, but his performance was disappointing. Eventually, he was dropped from the squad and announced his retirement from international cricket in late 2024.
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