India, June 12 -- It wasn't just one, but a double assurance that all but confirmed Karun Nair's return to India's playing XI after nearly eight years. The middle-order batter is set to play his first match for India since the 2017 Dharamsala Test against Australia, in the upcoming five-match series against England starting June 20 at Headingley.

First, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video on Nair with a "special message" from teammate KL Rahul. The video was captioned: "A comeback story with Karun Nair. P.S. - A special message from KL Rahul."

In the clip, Rahul welcomed his former Karnataka teammate with a heartwarming message, in which he opened up about how he prepared himself for the series against Englan...