Birmingham: English County side Warwickshire on Friday announced that they have signed India’s off-spin all-rounder Jayant Yadav for the final three matches of the ongoing County Championship season.
Yadav, 32, will join up with his India teammate, pacer Mohammed Siraj at Edgbaston next week ahead of Warwickshire’s home match against Somerset, which starts on September 12.
He becomes the eighth Indian player to sign up for the English domestic cricket season in 2022 after Siraj (Warwickshire County matches), Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex), Washington Sundar (Lancashire), Krunal Pandya (50-over matches for Warwickshire), Umesh Yadav (Middlesex), Navdeep Saini (Kent) and Shubman Gill (Glamorgan County matches).
“This will be my first County Championship experience and I’m incredibly excited to join up with the squad for the final three games. When I was asked if I would like to join Warwickshire it was something I couldn’t say no to.”
“Having played my sixth Test earlier this year, I believe these three games will help me improve my game for more opportunities in the near future. I have never played at Edgbaston, but I have heard great things about the stadium and it will be a privilege to call it my home.”
“I would like to extend my gratitude to both Warwickshire County Cricket Club and BCCI for helping to make this happen and I look forward to arriving next week,” said Yadav on his signing with Warwickshire.
In 64 first-class matches to date, Yadav has taken 173 wickets and scored 2,194 runs. In six Test matches for India, Yadav has taken 16 wickets, averaging 29.06 apart from making 248 runs at an average of 31.
He became the first Indian batter to score a Test century batting at number nine, during his eighth-wicket partnership of 241 with Virat Kohli against England in Mumbai in 2016, which is still an Indian record and the seventh highest of all time.
“Jayant is another fantastic addition to the squad, and we’re excited to welcome him to Warwickshire. Jayant has played Test cricket this year and adding his First-Class experience to our bowling attack could be vital in the final three games.”
“It was vitally important that we strengthened our bowling line-up for the run-in and the signing of Jayant, plus Siraj gives us an enviable array of options,” said Paul Farbrace, Director of Cricket at Warwickshire.
Yadav last played a Test match against Sri Lanka at Mohali in March this year while his recent ODI appearance came against South Africa at Cape Town in January.
–IANS