Venkatesh Iyer joins Lancashire for One-Day Cup, County Championship

India all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer has signed for Lancashire for the ongoing One-Day Cup and will also feature in the first two rounds of the County Championship in late August. Star India batter Ajinkya Rahane is also playing the One-Day tournament and recently hit a half-century on his debut for Leicestershire.

Venkatesh meanwhile joined the list of elite Indian cricketers to play for Lancashire. Previously, Farokh Engineer, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman featured for the county club and most recently, Washington Sundar also represented the team. After signing the contract, Venkatesh talked briefly about the glorious history of Lancashire and stated that his skillset would be tested in English conditions, which could also help him improve as a player.

“I am incredibly excited to head over to England and to have the opportunity to play county cricket for the first time in my career. Lancashire is a very historic county with a long history of welcoming Indian players to their Club. I am looking forward to emulating the likes of Farokh Engineer, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and most recently Washington Sundar in wearing the Red Rose colours at Emirates Old Trafford,” Venkatesh was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

“To test my skills in both one-day and first-class cricket in English conditions is going to really benefit my game. I hope that I can entertain the fans and help my Lancashire teammates to achieve their targets in both formats this summer,” he added. 

Notably, the 29-year-old is not looking to extend his contract as he is eyeing to play the upcoming Duleep Trophy, slated to begin on September 5 and get into India’s white-ball squad. Meanwhile, Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Performance, welcomed Venkatesh into the squad and stated that the cricketer would add experience to the young side.

“Venkatesh will add experience to a young side during the One-Day Cup, whilst providing an explosive batting option in the middle-order and another seam bowler that we can turn to with the ball,” Chilton said.