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.

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#5 KB Arun Karthik (Assam to Kerala)

KB Arun Karthik led Assam last season

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.

#4 Karn Sharma (Railways to Vidarbha)

One of the players to watch out for

One of the players to watch out for in this Ranji season is leg-spinner Karn Sharma. The discarded Indian leggie has been turning heads with his performances of late. In the recently concluded Duleep Trophy, he picked 15 wickets in just three innings and in the two-match four-day series against New Zealand A, Karn accounted for 16 wickets in four innings turning out for India A.

If he continues to impress in the Ranji Trophy, a national call-up won't be too far for the former Railways skipper. Ever since making his debut in 2007, he represented Railways and has played over 150 matches for them across all three formats and has taken around 300 wickets. But, his decade-long association came to an end as Karn is set to represent Vidarbha from the upcoming season.

The reason for the move is that Vidarbha has lost one of their guest players, Ambati Rayudu and in his place, the team management roped in Karn when they could have easily gone for Piyush Chawla.

#3 Ambati Rayudu (Vidarbha to Hyderabad)

Ambati Rayudu set for a third stint with Hyderabad

After making his first-class debut for Hyderabad as a sixteen-year-old, Ambati Rayudu moved to Andhra a couple of years later before he jumped into the Indian Cricket League bandwagon. When ICL was terminated, Rayudu returned to Hyderabad for the 2009-10 season after BCCI offered an amnesty to all the players who opted for ICL ahead of the 2009-10 season.

Later, Hyderabad were relegated to the Plate division and Rayudu left his home to further his ambitions of representing India. He joined Baroda and the move paid off as he went on to represent the national team before he left Baroda and joined Vidarbha for whom he didn't play a single FC match due to an injury.

Again, the discarded Indian batsman has decided to return home, for the second time, as the Vidarbha Cricket Association gave him the NoC to leave the team and represent their rivals.

This is the sixth time Rayudu has changed sides in the Indian domestic circuit and remember that he was away from the domestic scene for three years due to his ICL commitments.

#2 Piyush Chawla (Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat)

A file photo of Chawla batting against Tamil Nadu

Ahead of the 2017-18 season, the defending Ranji Champions got a big boost as veteran cricketer Piyush Chawla will turn out for them in the upcoming season.

Chawla, who represented Uttar Pradesh from 2005 till the end of last season, is one of the greatest cricketers to have emerged from the state as he has taken over 300 FC wickets for them and was a part of the Ranji Trophy-winning team in 2005-06. Even in the limited-over formats, his contribution to the team is nothing less than excellent.

Though there were rumours that Chawla left UP for Gujarat because of the emergence of Kuldeep Yadav, the leggie has revealed that the nature of the wickets was the reason why he made a decision to leave the state.

"Up north, you either get flat wickets or seaming tracks. We've struggled to find a middle path, so as a spinner, opportunities to make inroads are very less. I wanted to play in an environment where the surfaces are little more responsive and allow you to make an impact," Chawla told ESPNcricinfo after the switch.

#1 Robin Uthappa (Karnataka to Saurashtra)

Uthappa ends his 15-year association with Karnataka

Ever since making his debut as a 17-year-old, Robin Uthappa played for his home team Karnataka throughout his career. But now, the right-hander has decided to end his 15-year association with the former Champions and has moved to Saurashtra ahead of the new domestic season.

Ever since making his debut as a 17-year-old, Robin Uthappa played for his home team Karnataka throughout his career. The reason for the switch is not yet out but there were reports that Uthappa is leaving the team after he was dropped from the XI ahead of the quarter-finals against Tamil Nadu.

Though the state association did not want him to leave, the seasoned campaigner stood firm and got the NoC. He was also close to joining Kerala before eventually joining Saurashtra.