Karun Nair's return to India's playing XI after almost eight years was all but guaranteed by two guarantees, not just one. The upcoming five-match series against England, which begins on June 20 at Headingley, will see the middle-order batter play his first game for India since the 2017 Dharamsala Test against Australia.

Initially, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of Nair that included a "special message" from his teammate KL Rahul. The video was titled "A Comeback Story with Karun Nair. P.S. - A Special Message from KL Rahul."

Rahul greeted his old Karnataka teammate with a warm note in the video, wherein he described how he got ready for the series against England.

"I've known him for a very long time, and I think it's special for him, his family, and friends like us who've seen his journey. It must have been quite difficult and lonely for him to spend all those months here in the UK playing cricket, but he managed to do it and rejoin the Indian team." "Hopefully, his experience and the lessons he gained from playing county cricket here will serve him well when he competes in the Test matches here," he stated. "So, as I mentioned, very inspiring as well."

After making his debut in 2016, Nair represented India in only six Test matches, amassing 374 runs at an average of 62.33, which included a career-high 303. The seasoned batsman, who was chosen this time due to a record Ranji season, justified the selection with a double century in India's first match. A earlier this month, then scores of 40 and 15 in the second match.

"Feels really special. Nair stated, "I am extremely thankful and fortunate to have this chance once more, and I am really eager and thrilled to seize it with both hands." "I'm not sure, actually! I believe I'll have to experience that sensation for myself and simply go out there and feel it for myself." I'm sure there will be a lot of emotions, a lot of which I can't put into words right now, and it will be a unique experience.

Fans were ecstatic and thanked the Indian board for following up on the senior batter's three-year-old request as Nair's return was nearly verified by the BCCI video. Nair wrote on social media in 2022, "Dear cricket, give me one more chance."

India's last practice session suggests a lineup

India's last practice session before the intra-squad match in Beckenham suggested the potential batting order for the series against England, if it wasn't only the BCCI film. According to a RevSportz report, India conducted some fielding drills on Thursday with Rishabh Pant as the wicketkeeper and Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the slip cordon.

If the squad follows the slip cordon, Nair will be back. His batting position is still to be determined, although some pundits believe he might take Virat Kohli's place at number four, as he did last month when Kohli retired from Test cricket.