Experienced Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has inked a contract with Kent County Cricket Club, where he is set to participate in the remaining three games for the club in the ongoing County Championship.
This significant development comes on the heels of Chahal's omission from the Indian national squad for the highly anticipated ICC Cricket World Cup, slated to be held on home soil from October 5 to November 19.
The announcement from Kent County Cricket Club officially confirms Chahal's availability for selection in the upcoming two home Championship matches against Nottinghamshire and Lancashire, along with an away fixture against Somerset.
The game against the Notts will be played on September 10, with the match against Somerset being played on September 19. Kent will host Lancashire on September 26.
Currently, Kent occupies the ninth position in the County Championship Division One standings, a precarious position that places them at risk of relegation to Division 2 in the next season.
Despite not being a constant fixture in first-class cricket, Yuzvendra Chahal is ready to embrace this new challenge in English county cricket.
In the previous season, he featured in just two games for Haryana in the Ranji Trophy, where he managed to secure three wickets at an average of 92.33.
Throughout his first-class career spanning 33 matches, Chahal has amassed a total of 87 wickets, averaging 35.35 with a strike rate of more than 67.
Kuldeep a little bit ahead of Chahal’ – Ajit Agarkar on World Cup 2023 chances
Yuzvendra Chahal expresses happiness on Kent contract
In his statement following the contract signing with Kent CCC, Chahal expressed his enthusiasm. “This is an exciting challenge for me, playing in English county cricket, and one I'm very much looking forward to,” he remarked.
Paul Downton, the director of cricket at Kent, is optimistic about the contributions Chahal can make to the club. He highlights Chahal's wealth of experience at the international level, viewing it as a valuable asset for the team.
“We're delighted to have secured a spinner of Yuzvendra's quality for the last three Championship matches of the season, with Matt Parkinson not available to us until next year, and Hami Qadri recently injured,” Downton stated.
“He is really looking forward to playing in English conditions and will bring a significant amount of skill and international experience to our squad.”
Kent had previously added another Indian talent, fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, to their squad earlier in the season. The 24-year-old cricketer participated in five matches during the months of June and July, where he claimed 13 wickets in eight bowling innings.
