KB Arun Karthik: A tale of difficult decisions

Life is all about the tough calls you make. Someone who knows all about that is KB Arun Karthik, who has made quite a few since his career began in 2007. Since then he has played for three different teams in the Ranji Trophy, been associated with both Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League and is now doing his best to help Siechem Madurai Panthers claim their maiden Tamil Nadu Premier League title.

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, the 32-year-old spoke about his career so far, the reason behind leaving Tamil Nadu and what keeps him going.

It all began in 2007 when a then 21-year-old batsman had to decide what to do with his free time as he hadn't yet broken into the Tamil Nadu domestic side. Unlike most 21-year-olds, Arun Karthik decided that he wanted to go to Sri Lanka not for a vacation but for a taste of professional cricket.

It was in Katunayake, 30 kms north of Colombo that he began his career, playing his first List-A game, for Badureliya Sports Club. He ended up finishing that season as the team's leading run-scorer in the competition but KB, as he called by his teammates, recalls that his primary reason for going to Sri Lanka was to "explore other cricketing options".

"When I went to play in Sri Lanka, I was not part of the domestic circuit at the time. I had a lot of free time and I thought I'll go and explore other cricketing options. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to play there, which not many players get. That experience certainly gave me a lot of confidence moving forward in my career. After playing there, taking part in league matches in Chennai felt very easy for me to score runs," he fondly recalls.

In 2008, he made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu and made an immediate impact as he scored 149 against a Karnataka side that included Indian internationals Vinay Kumar and Sunil Joshi. Not too long after that, he made his debut for Tamil Nadu across all formats.

He immediately became an integral part of a batting line-up that included Indian internationals Abhinav Mukund, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik.

Arun Karthik's last-ball six for RCB gave him the national spotlight

Then came an IPL contract with Chennai Super Kings and subsequently Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011, for whom he hit a last-ball six against South Australia to take his side through to the semi-final of the Champions League T20.

Life couldn’t have been any better for KB. But nothing good ever lasts forever and the strength of the Tamil Nadu batting line-up meant that a few years later, he had to sit on the bench.

"Leaving Tamil Nadu was a difficult call to make." - KB Arun Karthik

Six years after he made his debut for Tamil Nadu, KB had another tough call to make. He could either continue to be on the bench and hope that a national call-up to one of the aforementioned players gives him an opportunity once more or he could leave, play regularly for another side and keep his dreams of representing India alive.

He chose the latter option and moved to Assam, which wasn't exactly not known as a breeding ground for international cricketers. Four years on from that decision, he admits that it was a "difficult call" to make.

"Leaving Tamil Nadu was a difficult call to make. Because every opportunity what I got until then was from Tamil Nadu. It was a difficult decision to make but I felt that I would be a better player if I go out, perform and get a lot of matches under my belt rather than just sitting on the bench and not getting an opportunity."

While the decision was undoubtedly difficult, why choose Assam? And how was the experience of playing in a new culture as the seasoned campaigner?

"In India, there is a lot of talent. Assam had a lot of good fast bowlers and decent spinners. When I played for Assam, we made sure that team comes first. Winning matters and I wanted to make sure that the culture is good and the brand of cricket which we play should be for a win. Those cultural changes that were brought in, that is what we did in Assam," he explains.

And those changes worked wonders in his second season with the side. In the 2015/16 season, Assam made it to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy and it was KB who was leading the way with 802 runs at an average of almost 50.

But after three years with the side, he had another tough call to make. He felt that he wasn't going forward as a player so when the call came from Kerala, he felt that it was the right time to make the move.

"Kerala has always had the talent. Every year, several players from Kerala play in the IPL. Players like Sanju (Samson) do really well in the IPL and have a very good pool of fast bowlers," he adds before speaking about the similarities between Assam and Kerala.

"It is just a matter of culture. Again here, the coach, Dav Whatmore brought a lot of input and made a lot of changes in the way we think and the way we approach games."

Looking back now, does KB have any regrets about the tough calls he has had to make? He shakes his head and simply says, "whatever teams I have played for since (Tamil Nadu), have done well as a team. That gives me a sense of satisfaction. "

What the future holds for KB Arun Karthik is anyone's guess but you can be sure that whatever happens, he won't be afraid to take another tough call.

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