Whenever I scored runs, there's someone else who scored better: Karun Nair

Mumbai, March 21: He has had his moments in IPL but Karun Nair, one of the only two triple centurions for India in Test cricket, has not quite gone on to become a T20 mainstay.

Not that his Test career took off in the manner it was expected to after the monumental 303 against England in 2016.

As far as IPL is concerned, being asked to play different roles at different teams did not help his cause, Nair reasoned. Despite having had a great start to his IPL career, scoring 330 runs for Rajasthan Royals at a strike rate of 142.24 in 2014, and having played for a few more franchises subsequently, Nair has been unlucky when it comes to establishing himself as a mainstay in T20 cricket.

Smiling, Nair on Monday explained why he could not attain a high degree of success in the shortest format. "In my opinion, the reason behind that is that I've never been the kind of a main player in a team in T20 cricket. If you see, whenever I score runs, there's someone else who scores better in the same match (laughs)," Nair said in a press release issued by his IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals. "...But I'm not really bothered about that at all -- all I care about and why I play matches is to help the team win."

"On a more serious note, why people don't see me as a T20 specialist is because I've been asked to play different kind of roles over the years, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I'm hoping to have a great season with the Royals and just focus on whatever I'm told to do," Nair added.

Having had a strong relationship with Rajasthan Royals over the past few years, batter Nair is back in the RR camp for IPL 2022 and is looking forward to contributing to the team's success.

"Obviously a lot of things have changed since when I was here (at the Royals) first, but this team always feels like home to me. We have a well-balanced side, and I'm enjoying getting to know all the guys here.

"It's an exciting phase in the history of this franchise and I'm looking forward to playing an exciting brand of cricket, which I know the Royals always strive to do," said 30-year-old Nair, who has also recently become a father.

Having played with Royals' skipper Sanju Samson before in the IPL, Nair is excited to play with his "good friend".

"I've always loved playing with Sanju so I can't wait to reconnect with him on the ground. We've had some really good partnerships over the years and I'm really happy to know Sanju, along with Kumar (Sangakkara) and Zubin (Bharucha), have shown the faith in me to bring me back into the team."

Nair's teammate at Rajasthan Royals, spinner KC Cariappa is also chuffed to be playing alongside the phenomenal Ravichandran Ashwin in the upcoming IPL, viewing it as an opportunity to learn as much as possible from the veteran tweaker.

This time at RR, Cariappa will also have India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for company. Cariappa, who has spent the last two seasons with the franchise, is looking forward to working with two of India's leading spinners.

"I've known Yuzi for a long time and have enjoyed interacting with him over the years. Whereas, with a legend like Ashwin bhai in the team, it's a great thing for me to learn and improve my bowling by taking inputs from him," said Cariappa.

"It's obviously good to be back at the Royals -- my second home. There's a new feeling around the camp, which is obviously also down to the fact that we've got a solid team," added the 27-year-old from Karnataka.