Yuzvendra Chahal signs up with Kent for three-match County Championship stint

He will be available for selection in Kent's remaining two home Championship matches against Nottinghamshire & Lancashire, as well as Kent's away fixture against Somerset.

New Delhi: India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who was not included in the squad for Asia Cup or the ODI World Cup, has signed up with Kent for their remaining three matches of the County Championship in England, subject to regulatory approval.

He will be available for selection in Kent’s remaining two home Championship matches against Nottinghamshire & Lancashire, as well as Kent’s away fixture against Somerset. Chahal is the second India international to feature for Kent in the ongoing season, after left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh played for the club in the County Championship competition back in June & July, taking 13 wickets in eight innings.

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“This is an exciting challenge for me, playing in English county cricket, and one I’m very much looking forward to,” said Chahal in a statement issued by the club, who are at ninth place in the Division One table and are in danger of being relegated to Division Two.

“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.”

“He is really looking forward to playing in English conditions and will bring a significant amount of skill and international experience to our squad,” said Paul Downton, Kent’s Director of Cricket. Chahal has taken 87 wickets from 33 first-class matches, but has never played Test cricket for India.

But he’s more of a white-ball constant for India until recently, taking 121 wickets from 72 ODIs at an average of 27.13. He has also picked 96 wickets from 80 T20Is with an economy rate of 8.19. Chahal played two games for Haryana in the last season of the Ranji Trophy, taking three wickets at an average of 92.33.

Apart from Chahal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Jaydev Unadkat will be plying their trade for Sussex while Jayant Yadav is scheduled to join Middlesex once his visa issues are resolved. Also, B Sai Sudharsan has joined Surrey while Umesh Yadav will be turning out for Essex for the remaining time in the County Championship.