Off-spinner Malolan Rangarajan is making a State switch; moving from Tamil Nadu to Uttarakhand for the coming Ranji Trophy season. The 29-year-old Malolan, also an attacking lower-order batsman, has 119 wickets (ave. 28.19) and 1251 runs (29.78) in 38 First Class matches.
“I have very fond memories [playing] for Tamil Nadu. I can never forget the first year, 2011, when I entered the dressing room for the first time, there were so many established cricketers and India players,” Malolan told The Hindu on Wednesday.
In 2013-14 he took 26 wickets at 19.07, and did even better in 2014-15 with 36 scalps at 28.75 as Tamil Nadu made the Ranji final. He said, “We could not win the Ranji Trophy, but it was a terrific run.”
Subsequently, with Tamil Nadu playing a lot on seamer-friendly neutral venues and the advent of off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar, Malolan found himself in and out of the Ranji side. “In the last two years, I only played a handful of matches, so I decided to leave. I will be playing all three formats for Uttarakhand.”
Malolan said, wherever he went, his heart was always with Tamil Nadu. “The best flight is always the one back home,” he said.