Ajinkya Rahane becomes first Indian to join Hampshire
BCCI
Ajinkya Rahane becomes the first Indian to join Hampshire as an overseas player and has been drafted as a replacement for Aiden Markram. Rahane expressed his delight towards the selection into the county side and will play eight County Championship fixtures for Hampshire this season.
Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs in the domestic cricket structure of England andĀ Wales. The club, which is now under the captainship of James Vince, has roped in India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane as a replacement for South African Aiden Markram. Markram, who was already a replacement for Dimuth Karunaratne, has gone back to South Africa after being named in the 15-man squad for World Cup 2019.
Rahane, who will be debuting in county cricket, expressed his delight towards the selection and stated that it is a pleasure to play under the club which has exceptional reputation. The veteran batsman will play eight County Championship fixtures throughout May, June and the beginning of July.
āI am excited to be the first Indian to play for Hampshire, a county which has a glowing reputation," Rahane said. "I hope to score runs and win as a team and would like to thank BCCI for allowing me to play." said Rahane, reported Cricbuzz.
As a vice captain of Indian test team and with a first class average of 40.56 in 56 Tests, Rahane will bring stability to a strong Hampshire batting line-up alongside with James Vince, Rilee Roussouw and Sam Northeast. It is notable that the batsman has scored three half centuries in four matches against Hampshire's Ageas Bowl for India.Ā
"We're delighted to attract a player of Ajinkya's class and with both Aiden and Dimuth selected for the World Cup, we were obviously in the market for a top-order batsman,"
"Ajinkya showed an interest early on and the way things have played out it's a great opportunity to get him over - we're really excited to have him with us. He's enjoyed playing at the Ageas Bowl previously and it's going to be great to have a player of his stature joining the dressing room."Giles White, Hampshire's Director of Cricket, said.
