Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma to take part in county cricket

Indian spin spearhead Ravichandran Ashwin, who had been rested from the ODI series as well as the T20Is against Sri Lanka, will take part in county cricket this season. It was earlier reported that Worcestershire has shown a keen interest in roping in Ashwin for the cricketing season. He is likely to be available to play the match against Gloucestershire starting August 28.

Team-mates following the suit

His teammate fast bowler Ishant Sharma will also play county cricket. The lanky speedster will represent Warwickshire. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is also likely to take part in the season ahead and is currently in talks with the counties. Earlier, Indian reliable batsman Cheteshwar Pujara had a successful stint with Nottinghamshire, scoring 223 runs in 4 matches, including a hundred against Gloucestershire, which won them the game.

Nottinghamshire is currently at the top spot, and they will take on second-placed Worcestershire starting on September 5. The fans may very well fancy their chances of watching Ashwin and Pujara play against each other.

Debut stint

This will be the Indian spinner’s first experience in county cricket. Ashwin and Jadeja were rested for the upcoming matches against Sri Lanka, citing excessive workload as one of the main reasons. India will play Australia next up, and if Ashwin gets a call-up, which is very likely, then he will be a part of just two matches for Worcestershire. If not, then the ace spinner will go on to represent his county side for the rest of the games, according to ESPN Cricinfo.

Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan too represented Worcestershire in the county circuit, and it will be interesting to see if Ashwin can emulate that and present his case in the English conditions. The last time India toured England for a Test series, Ashwin played only two out of the five matches. He lost his berth to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.