Ravichandran Ashwin will be playing for the Yorkshire County Cricket Club in the 2020 County Championship.
The Indian off-spinner has previously been a part of the County Championship representing Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire. Ashwin is expected to play at least 8 games for his new team, Yorkshire in 2020.
He will travel to England after the IPL concludes and has received permission from the BCCI to take some extra days off. He will be replacing South African spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took 38 wickets for Yorkshire CCC in 5 games in 2019.
The 33-year-old told yorkshireccc.com, “I’m thrilled to be joining Yorkshire, a club with a wonderful history and a fantastic fan base. I think our team looks extremely talented with some superb pace bowlers and exciting batsmen. Hopefully, my role as the spinner will be a key feature in helping the team achieve success.”
“Headingley has always been a fantastic venue to play at. People speak about the overhead conditions playing a big part so let’s hope for plenty of sun. I love playing First-Class cricket and have enjoyed my two previous spells with Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire. My role will be to score runs and take wickets but it will be a collective effort if we are to win the title,” he added.
The Yorkshire CCC certainly has had a fantastic share of overseas players with Sachin Tendulkar being the first player way back in 1992. Other foreigners like Michael Bevan, Aaron Finch, Stephen Fleming, Herschelle Gibbs, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Imran Tahir have also been a part of the side.
“I know a lot about Yorkshire and to follow in the footsteps of Sachin (Tendulkar), who played for the county many years ago is a wonderful feeling for me,” Ashwin said.
Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale said, “With Kesh (Keshav Maharaj) doing so well last year, it shows the importance of having a spinner who can attack and defend. He can contribute with the bat as well. Ashwin ticks every box, he did well for Notts in a team that was underachieving with both bat and ball. To get a guy of his experience in and around the group will be great for us.”
(Inputs from Sportstar)
