2017-18 Ranji Trophy: 5 players who changed sides ahead of the upcoming season
With the 2017-18 Ranji season set to get underway, the teams have already started their preparations well in advance. Though most of the player will turn out for the same teams as last season, few players have opted to switch states due to various reasons.
With BCCI having the outstation players cushion for the teams, the players need to get a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from their state association so that they can move to other states. Players do this mainly to improve their chances of being in the reckoning for the national team, to get a chance in the playing XI and sometimes, the veteran cricketers are asked to guide the youngsters.
We have quite a few names switching sides before the start of the season. The likes of B Anirudh Sitaram (Hyderabad to Tamil Nadu), Himalaya Barad (Gujarat to Saurashtra), Rahul Chahar (Rajasthan to Services) etc. have already switched sides this season.
Let us take a look at some of the notable players who have switched states ahead of the upcoming seasons.
#5 KB Arun Karthik (Assam to Kerala)
KB Arun Karthik might not be a familiar name among many but a set of fans might remember him for hitting a last ball six to win a Champions League T20 match for Royal Challengers Bangalore against South Australian Redbacks a few years ago.
The 31-year-old has played 60 first-class matches so far and has scored close to 3500 runs at an average of 40 in a career that started way back in 2008. In a career that has been spanning over nine years, Karthik has already played for three teams. He started his career with Tamil Nadu before moving to Assam because of the lack of chances he got in the TN side.
Ahead of the 2017 season, he decided to make a switch back to South where he will turn up for Kerala as he wants to work with the youngsters there and guide them.