Yorkshire County Cricket Club has confirmed the signing of Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad as their overseas player for the remainder of the County Championship and the entirety of the One-day Cup season.
Ruturaj Gaikwad earns county gig
The 28-year-old will link up with the squad ahead of their County Championship fixture against Surrey, scheduled for July 22, and will be available for both red-ball and white-ball formats, including the One Day Cup that starts on August 5.
Gaikwad, who is currently touring England with the India A side, brings with him a wealth of experience. He leads Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and captains Maharashtra in domestic cricket. At the international level, he has featured in six ODIs and 23 T20Is for India. His last appearance for the team was against Zimbabwe last year.
Gaikwad has also played 38 first-class games, averaging 41.77 with seven hundreds and a high score of 195. In 86 List A games, he has made 4,324 runs at an average of 56.1, also scoring 16 tons and 17 fifties. It is the fifth-best List A batting average among players who have batted in at least 50 innings.
Gaikwad will become just the second player from India to play in the County Championship this year. Yuzvendra Chahal will return to join Northamptonshire later this month. Earlier, Shardul Thakur had also been signed for seven games by Essex, but the all-rounder could not take part after he was bought in as an injury replacement in the IPL. Shardul is currently with the India A team, and will then turn out against England in the five-match series after he was given a Test call-up.
Gaikwad: 'No bigger club in England than Yorkshire'
Gaikwad expressed his excitement at being signed up for the club, in a statement released by Yorkshire. “I’m excited to be joining up with Yorkshire for the rest of the English domestic season”, he said. “It has always been a goal of mine to experience cricket in this country, and there is no bigger Club in England than Yorkshire.
“I know how important it is that I hit the ground running at what will be a crucial part of the season. We have some vital games in the County Championship, and the One Day Cup is a great opportunity to win some silverware.”
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