His Bradmanesque sequence of scores in domestic cricket in recent years have mingled with the most testing time of his career, but Karun Nair picks the “end of 2022” as the toughest he has had to endure, describing it as “quite a dark place.”

The 33-year-old Nair’s journey back to the Indian Test team after eight years is a testament to his resilience and determination. “In terms of incidents, I would say, it was quite a dark place at the end of 2022. Very emotional phase for me. I think the toughest time for me. Even tougher than 2018, or whatever, whenever that was,” Nair said during an interaction with R Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

After the 2022 season, Nair went nearly 14 months without playing any competitive cricket. He then played for Northamptonshire.