5 seasoned cricketers who remained loyal to one Ranji team

#1 Murali Karthik [Railways,1996-2014]

Karthik has 664 wickets to his credit

Highly in demand amidst the English county scenario, Murali Kartik’s stint at the national level has not been a fairytale run. When will take a look at Murali Karthik’s career over time, one thing that can be observed were the chances he lost during his prime time, unable to make his presence felt owing to the fabulous chemistry between India’s two best spinners at that time, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

Having started off as a medium-pacer, Karthik’s love for mimicking great spinner Bishan Singh Bedi gave him a new perspective which in turn shifted his focus completely to left-arm spin. Kick-starting his juniors years with Delhi, Karthik shifted base to the Railways squad in 1996 to pursue his love for cricket and to hone his skills further.

The left-arm spinner made his first-class debut for Railways in 1996 against Madhya Pradesh and picked up just one wicket but contributed 47 with the bat to help draw the tight game. Right in the next game he made a huge impression by claiming a hat-trick to end up with 6 wickets against Vidarbha and ended the season with a tally of 16 wickets in addition to a wonderful average of 19.37.

With an experience of 203 first-class matches to his credit, Karthik is often regarded as a bowling all-rounder, with his ability to score the necessary runs when needed. Considered a third-choice spinner in the international scenario, Karthik made utmost use of the opportunities in the domestic circuit. Certainly not a mug with the bat, he scored 4423 runs at an average of just over 20 while he picked up 664 wickets at an applaudable average of 26.70.