2017-18 Ranji Trophy: 5 players who changed sides ahead of the upcoming season

#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.