India batter Karun Nair is having a dream run in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) - domestic 50-over tournament - with an average of 752 after five hundreds and one fifty in eight matches for Vidarbha. The batter says that he 'manifested something like this jokingly.'
Whatever may be the reason, Nair's performance could not have come at a better time. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is looking to announce Champions Trophy 2025 squad and the team is dealing with batting failure in recent series, albeit in Test matches.
Also Read: India Champions Trophy Squad Announcement Live Updates
Manifested Jokingly, says Nair on Dream Run in VHT
"Funnily enough I said I think I need to score a hundred in every single innings to kind of get noticed," Nair said during a chat with ESPNcricinfo.
"I think I may have manifested something like this unknowingly in that chat with Robbie (Robin Uthappa), and that's coming into fruition," Nair mentions. "At the time [of recording the podcast], I was hurting a bit. After scoring runs in England and scoring nearly 700 runs [690 at the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy] to take Vidarbha into the finals, I did feel I could've got a look-in for the Duleep Trophy.
"Initially, right through the first half of the Ranji season I kept thinking about missed opportunities when I couldn't convert a few of my starts. But coming into the Vijay Hazare Trophy, I had completely forgotten about it, but I've just kept playing and have kept getting hundreds," he added.
He started the tournament with 112 not out against Jammu and Kashmir on December 23 and followed it up with 44 not out against Chhattisgarh three days later. In the next match against Chandigarh, Nair scored 163 not out—his highest in the tournament so far.
In the fourth match against Tamil Nadu, Nair hit 111 not out on December 31 to ring in the New Year in style. In the next VHT match against Uttar Pradesh, Nair scored 112 and was dismissed for the first time in the tournament. He didn't bat in the match against Mizoram before scoring another hundred on Sunday (Jan 12) and following it up with 88 not out in the semi-final on January 16.