It was an emotional moment for Karun Nair's family - father Kaladharan Nair, mother Prema and relatives in the stands - as the batsman acknowledged the cheers after smashing his maiden triple hundred. Karun, father Kaladharan reveals, was a "premature baby" born just eight months into pregnancy. Interestingly, this contributed to his parents enrolling him in a coaching academy as a kid.
AP
"He was a premature baby. As a kid, he had a few issues as a result of this. He would be a bit fidgety at times. His lung capacity was a bit weak as a kid. Thus, he was advised to do physical activities and exercises. So we took him to the ground," Kaladharan said.
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They were at times scared whether their son would get hurt. "What if he falls, cries... gets injured... we knew he was a premature baby. We were even scared a few times. But then he slowly developed. I never thought that he would play for India at the start, but when he made it to the Karnataka team I believed he could make it," added Kaladharan, whose favourite knock of Karun remains the 328 he scored against Tamil Nadu in Mumbai during the 2015 Ranji Trophy final.
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This is the first time Kaladharan, 62, has come to watch his son bat at a venue other than the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Interestingly, mother Prema, a school teacher, hadn't watched her son bat either live on TV or at the ground before this Test, fearing that her presence might contribute to his dismissal. But Karun proved her wrong at the Chepauk.
AP
"This is first time I have watched him play. I'm very much afraid... what if he gets out when I watch the match? There was one occasion when he got out as I entered the house. I would get nervous and watch only the highlights. But now I'm happy for him and short of words," said 59-year-old Prema.
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KL Rahul, the other centurion in the Test match, shares a great camaraderie with his Karnataka teammate. Rahul and Karun have been friends for the past 14 years and have risen up the ladder at the same time. "I and Karun have played our cricket together since we were 11. Both our families will be proud watching us play together. It was their dream as well when we started playing cricket," Rahul had said on Sunday.
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Unlike Rahul, Karun is more introverted. "Karun is a quiet, at times shy guy. He doesn't open up that quickly. He hangs around mostly with his cricket friends. But he talks a lot about Dravid and Tendulkar," said Kaladharan.
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