Robin Uthappa Quits Karnataka
Putting an end to all the speculations, Robin Uthappa has finally quit Karnataka to play for another team in the upcoming domestic season, Speculations were rife over his future with Karnataka after the discarded India batsman did not enjoy a very fruitful last season.
The 31-year old Karnataka-born cricketer represented his native state for 15 years since making his debut way back in 2002 but things turned sour between the player and the team when he was dropped from the playing XI last season.
The right-handed batsman had played a pivotal role in 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons when Karnataka completed a rare back-to-back treble – winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy. He finished the 2014-15 Ranji Trophy season as its leading run-scorer as Karnataka became the first domestic team to repeat their title-winning treble. Uthappa had amassed a staggering 912 runs in that season and followed it with 759 runs in the following season. However, things did not go well for him in the last season where he managed only 328 runs in 12 innings including a century before facing the ax for the quarterfinal match against Tamil Nadu.
But despite the forgettable last season, no one can deny the fact that Uthappa has enjoyed a highly successful career with his native state. But it has all ended now as he has been granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the Karnataka State Cricket Association on Saturday (June 19).
“I had a long chat with Robin and he had his reasons for moving out. We tried to hold him back but couldn’t, so we had to issue the NOC as per his request. His contribution to Karnataka cricket is immense and we wish him the best always,” KSCA secretary Sudhakar Rao was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
As of now it is still not clear as to which team Uthappa will represent in the upcoming season but reports are suggesting he will play for Kerala. The stylish batsman has scored 6865 runs including 18 centuries and 33 half-centuries in 101 first-class matches for Karnataka.
