Out-of-favour Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane is returning to county cricket for a stint with Leicestershire. (More Cricket news)
The 34-year-old, who last played a Test in January last year, is set to join Leicestershire after the IPL and will be available for eight County matches, as well as the entire One Day Cup, the club announced.
Out-of-favour Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane is returning to county cricket for a stint with Leicestershire. (More Cricket news)
The 34-year-old, who last played a Test in January last year, is set to join Leicestershire after the IPL and will be available for eight County matches, as well as the entire One Day Cup, the club announced on Tuesday.
"I'm really happy to be joining Leicestershire for the upcoming season. I can’t wait to play alongside my new teammates and explore the vibrant city of Leicester," Rahane, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in IPL, said in Leicestershire's website.
"I’m extremely excited to welcome Ajinkya to Leicestershire. He comes with a lot of experience and a tremendous work ethic. It’s a great opportunity for us to tap into that."
Rahane will join the likes of South Africa allrounder Wiaan Mulder, who has rejoined Leicestershire for all three formats, and Afghanistan quick Naveen-ul-Haq, who has signed for a third consecutive Vitality Blast campaign.
Rahane played for Hampshire in 2019 where he scored a century on County debut against Nottinghamshire in his previous stint.
"I’m extremely excited to welcome Ajinkya to Leicestershire. He comes with a lot of experience and a tremendous work ethic. It’s a great opportunity for us to tap into that," Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson said.
"I had conversations with (Assistant Coach) Alfonso Thomas and (Head Coach) Paul Nixon, who had eyed Ajinkya in the past, so he was always on our radar.
"It was a case of seeing what the team needed, which was definitely a senior overseas batsman, so we are delighted to have secured someone of Ajinkya’s calibre.”
Leading Mumbai in this Ranji season, Rahane has amassed 634 runs in seven matches, including a double hundred, averaging 57.63.
Rahane, who has captained India in all formats, has scored more than 8,000 runs at international level, reaching three figures on 12 occasions in Test and three times in ODIs. He has scored 4,931 runs at an average of 38.52 in 82 Tests and amassed 2,962 runs at 35.26 in 90 ODIs.
Rahane is one of only six Indians to have scored a century in each innings of a Test, while he also holds the world record for most catches in a Test (eight vs Sri Lanka, 2015).
Collectively, the Mumbaikar has accumulated just shy of 25,000 career runs, notching 51 centuries, including two in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals and one in the County Championship for Hampshire during his maiden county cricket stint in 2019.