Woh pal unke liye swarnim tha, jab woh Virender Sehwag ke baad India ke doosre batsman bane, jinhone Test cricket mein triple century banayi. Lekin uske baad, jaise cricket ke devta unke saath mazak karne lage. 2017 mein Australia ke khilaf unka aakhri Test match tha, aur phir woh team se baahar ho gaye. Ek aisa batsman, jisne triple century banayi, usse mauka hi nahi mila. 2018 mein England tour par, jab Indian batting line-up lagtaar gir raha tha, tab bhi unhe playing eleven mein jagah nahi di gayi. Hanuma Vihari ko bulakar debut diya gaya, jabki Karun bench par hi baithe rahe. Yeh unke liye ek andhera samay tha, jab lagta tha ki shayad cricket unhe bhool chuka hai.
Lekin Karun ne haar nahi maani. Unhone apne aap ko sambhala aur domestic cricket mein lag gaya. 2024-25 ke Ranji Trophy season mein, unhone Vidarbha ke liye 863 runs banaye, jismein 4 shatak the. Vijay Hazare Trophy mein toh unhone 8 innings mein 778 runs banaye, jisme 5 shatak shamil the, aur ek aisa record banaya jisme unhone 542 runs bina out hue banaye. Yeh sankhya nahi, unki mehnat aur junoon ki kahani hai. England ke Northamptonshire ke liye County Championship mein bhi unhone 736 runs banaye, jisme ek double century shamil thi. Unki yeh consistency dekhkar selectors ko bhi jhukna pada. India A ke liye England Lions ke khilaf unhone ek aur double century banayi, aur yeh sabit kar diya ki woh abhi bhi bade maidan ke liye taiyaar hain. Jaise ke KL Rahul, unke purane saathi ne kaha, “Karun ka yeh safar akela aur mushkil tha, lekin uski wapas aane ki kahani sabke liye prerna hai.”
Karun ki wapsi ek chhote sheher ke ladke ki tarah hai, jo bade khiladiyon ke saamne apni jagah banane ke liye ladta hai. Shubman Gill ke netritva mein Indian team ab naye daur mein hai, jisme Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, aur R Ashwin jaise bade naam Test cricket se sanayas le chuke hain. Aise mein, Karun jaise khiladi ka wapas aana ek nayi ummeed jagata hai. Unki mehnat aur lagan us waqt yaad dilati hai jab Sourav Ganguly ne 2006 mein apni wapsi ki thi, ya jab VVS Laxman ne apne aap ko baar-baar sabit kiya. Karun ka yeh safar us chhote khiladi ki tarah hai, jo bade stage par apni chhoti si jagah ke liye ladta hai, aur jeet jata hai. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar ne bhi unki consistency aur English conditions mein unke anubhav ki taareef ki. Head coach Gautam Gambhir ne kaha, “Comebacks kabhi aasaan nahi hote. Karun ka yeh never-give-up attitude poori team ke liye prerna hai.”
Lekin cricket ek aisa khel hai jisme har jeet ke peeche ek nayi chunauti hoti hai. Karun ke saamne ab England ka challenge hai, jahan James Anderson aur Ollie Robinson jaise bowlers unka intezaar kar rahe hain. 2018 ka woh tour, jab woh bench par baithe rahe, shayad unke zehen mein ab bhi hai. Kya woh uska jawab apne bat se denge? Ya phir cricket ka yeh khel unke saath ek aur mazak karega? June 2025 se shuru hone wali is series mein Karun ke liye yeh ek mauka hai, lekin saath hi ek kathor pariksha bhi. Unki kahani abhi poori nahi hui, aur shayad yeh cricket ka woh khel hai jo hamesha aapko adhoora chhod deta hai.
