Karun Nair is on the verge of playing his first Test in eight years when India open the five-match Test series against England at Leeds on June 20.

His comeback to the national side is on the back of a successful 2024-25 season with Vidarbha — 863 runsat an average of 53.93 — when he helped them win theRanji Trophy.

Nair, 33, also didn’t leave anything to chance scoring a double hundred in thefirst tour game against England Lions.

“Comebacks are never easy,” head coach Gautam Gambhir told the Test squad prior to their first training session. “The amount of runs you’ve got, the never-give-up attitude... it’s inspiring for the entire team. Welcome back, Karun Nair.”

For Nair, it has been a turnaround in fortunes. He had spent the entire five-match series in England in 2018 on the bench. He was overlooked as the team management flew in Hanuma Vihari, whowas not part of the original squad, from India and handed him a debut.

A triple centurion in Tests, Nair knows things can change dramatically and he is not willing to let the opportunity go this time.

“Feels really special,” Nair said in a video posted by the BCCI. “Very grateful and fortunate to be able to get this opportunity again. Looking forward to grabbing this opportunity with both hands.”

Nair is keeping fingers crossed. “Not sure actually,” he said of the prospect of returning to the playing XI.

“I’ll have to experience that feeling myself, just go out there and feel it for myself. I’m sure there’ll be a lot offeelings, ones that I can’t express right now. It’ll be a surreal feeling.”

His familiarity with English conditions will also puts him in good stead. Nair played 10 County Championship matches across two seasons (2023-2024) for Northamptonshire, scoring 736 runs at 56.61.

KL Rahul, Nair’s state teammate, recalled the time he had spent in England trying to gain a foothold.

“I’ve known him for a very long time,” Rahul said. “The months he has spent here in the UK playing cricket and how hard and how lonely it was. For him to be able to do all of that and come back into the Indian team is special for him and his family, and friends like us who’ve seen his journey.

“It’s very inspiring as well. Hopefully, his experience and learnings from county cricket here will hold him in good stead when he plays the Test matches,” Rahul said.