Jagadeesh Arunkumar

Guwahati, Sept. 15: Former Karnataka skipper, Jagadeesh Arunkumar, has become the third outstation probable after Vasanth Saravanan and Anand Katti for Assam?s Ranji team for the ensuing season.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has already issued inter-state transfer clearance in favour of Arunkumar and Anand Katti to the Assam Cricket Association (ACA).

The Bangalore-based 30-year-old Arunkumar, whose career of first class cricket for Karnataka stretched from 1993-94 to 2004-05, is a right-hand batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler.

Staging a Ranji debut against Andhra Pradesh at Vijayawada, he represented the state and South Zone in 90 first class matches scoring 5,990 runs with an average of 42.78.

He has cracked 16 first class tons and 31 half centuries.

In a one-day match, where he represented Karnataka and South Zone in 85 matches between 1993 and 2005, Arunkumar captained the state to K.S. Subbiah Pillai Trophy, South Zone tournament title in 2000 from where they qualified for the Wills Trophy tournament.

The former Indian junior international player staged his Irani Trophy debut at Bangalore in 1996-97 and Duleep Trophy debut against East Zone at Jamshedpur in 1994-95.

Representing India in the under-19 squad, Arunkumar toured South Africa in 1992-93 and England in 1994.

?We have received letters of intent from first class players from other states too. We are going to select three from among them,? ACA secretary Bikash Baruah told The Telegraph.

According to the rules of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, a state cannot field more than three outstation players in the Ranji squad.

Assam narrowly escaped relegation from the Ranji elite group in 2003-04 after Rajasthan lodged a complaint against the ACA of fielding five outstations in their league match.

After Chennai professional Saravanan, who has been representing Assam since 2003-04, has confirmed his stay with Assam for the ensuing season, only two slots remain open for outstation players in the squad.

Saravanan?s Chennai mate who scored a double century against his home state Tamil Nadu here last year is yet to assert his position.

Anand Katti is also expected to be in the squad in order to fill up the void created in the side, for a left-arm orthodox bowler after Delhi pro Sukhwinder Singh bade adieu to first class cricket early this year.