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‘JAK the ripper’ bids adieu

Principal Correspondent

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

J. Arun Kumar with his family after announcing his retirement.

BANGALORE: It was an afternoon of nostalgia and the feel-good factor went up a few notches when J. Arun Kumar, after expressing his gratitude to family, friends, fellow cricketers and the Karnataka State Cricket Association, said: “I have scored a majority of my runs on this Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch. I thank the markers and ground staff who did a good job in maintaining the square.”

It was a moment that revealed the former Karnataka captain’s large-heartedness as he bid adieu to the game here on Monday, while his erstwhile teammates — Sujith Somasundar, Vijay Bharadwaj, Dodda Ganesh and David Johnson — along with KSCA Secretary Brijesh Patel praised his contribution.

With 7,208 first-class runs from 109 matches and 3,227 runs in domestic ODIs, Arun — ‘JAK’ to his friends — proved to be a vital player at the top of the order for Karnataka ever since his debut in 1993 and was a member of the Ranji Trophy-winning teams in the ’90s.

Arun also played for Goa and Assam towards the end of his career besides being a member of the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad. He also led Belagavi Panthers to the final of the Karnataka Premier League’s inaugural edition recently.

Panthers lost the match to Bangalore Provident but there was some consolation for the team as Arun won the ‘Man-of-the-Series’ award for his blistering batting.

No regrets

The 34-year-old has always been a popular figure in the Karnataka dressing room. In 2000, he was in the reckoning for an India cap after his good stint during the India ‘A’ tour of the West Indies. “I have no regrets. To be fair, I did get a chance in a Board President’s XI match but I didn’t score much then,” Arun said with candour.

Arun, who runs an academy on Sarjapur Road in the suburbs, said he was open to coaching. “Coaching tiny tots has, in fact, helped me improve my patience,” he quipped.

Arun will keep his cricketing fires burning by playing in the Twenty20 format. “First-class cricket is over for me, but I will keep playing Twenty20 and will give it my 100 per cent,” he said.

Arun’s teammates spoke about his skills as a player and as a person. I have opened with him and he was literally ‘JAK the ripper’ as he could rip apart any attack,” said Somasundar.

“He was a positive cricketer,” said Bharadwaj. “He was a good captain and a good human being,” said Ganesh, while Johnson added: “We were roommates for a long while and we got along famously. He will be missed.”

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