Arun Karthick leaves Tamil Nadu, to turn up for Pondicherry

Tamil Nadu from Pondicherry ahead of the 2020-21 season, is headed back to where he came from. "We have Arun Karthick back in the mix which is a good sign since he brings so much experience. His presence will strengthen our middle-order.

Apart from Arun, Paras Dogra who hails from Himachal Pradesh and Ankit Sharma (from Madhya Pradesh) are the other outstation players for Pondicherry," a source close to the development said. Despite returning to home state, opportunities for Arun have been very far and few. He was overlooked for the entire domestic season last year.

Arun last played for Tamil Nadu during the Vijay Hazare Trophy clash against Punjab at Indore in 2021. "Playing for a different state is not new for me. The management in Pondicherry approached me to turn up for them and I accepted their offer," Arun told TOI on Monday.

Arun doesn’t have any hard feelings when it comes to getting few chances with Tamil Nadu. "You have to respect the decision of the Tamil Nadu selectors and team think tank. The players have been doing well and I wish them well," he added.

He had a dream start to his first-class career --- scoring a century on debut for Tamil Nadu against archrivals Karnataka back in 2008. He moved out of Tamil Nadu in 2014 and has since turned up for teams such as Assam, Kerala and Pondicherry. He has 4477 runs from 83 first-class outings and has made 1777 runs in 71 List A clashes.