Chennai: They say a near-death experience changes your perspective of life and it was one such incident that proved life-altering for India’s emerging star Karun Nair, who scored a triple hundred against England in the Chennai Test last year.

Last July, Karun survived a boat accident in Kerala when the young Karnataka cricketer was there on a thanksgiving visit. Karun said the narrow escape made him mentally stronger. “And it also changed my outlook towards life. It made me realise that you have only one life and you need to relish it. So I started enjoying each moment,” said Karun, who is here to play the south zone inter-state T20 tournament starting on Sunday.

Karun said it took him some time to get over the shock of the boat accident. “But I forget about the accident once I enter the pitch,” he said.

The 25-year-old said it felt “amazing” to be back at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium where he became only the second Indian to score a triple century. “It is still fresh in my memory. I would like to score a lot more runs in Chennai.”.

Tributes poured in from all directions when Karun achieved the rare feat last December, but the one he cherishes most came from Virender Sehwag, the first Indian to achieve the milestone. “A lot of people including our prime minister complimented me. The video made by Sehwag was really special,” said Karun.

Recently, Australia captain Steve Smith asked attacking opener David Warner to take a cue from Karun and make big score in India. “It feels nice to hear that from one of the best batsmen in the world. However, I am not thinking too much about it. I like to keep things simple. Against the Aussies or Bangladesh, I don’t have any targets. Whenever I get the opportunity, I want to make the most of it,” he said.

Karun who has a penchant for marathon innings gave an insight into his thought process. “Whenever I go past 100, I really motivate myself by thinking about the past when I have not got runs. I think about the times I struggled to score runs. It’s really important to make up for those lost chances,” he said.