Venkatesh Iyer, an all-rounder from India, has signed with Lancashire for the current One-Day Cup. He will also play in the first two County Championship matches in late August. Ajinkya Rahane, a star batsman for India, is participating in the One-Day tournament and recently scored fifty runs while playing for Leicestershire.
Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer became one of the top Indian cricketers to represent Lancashire. The county club has previously fielded players such as Farokh Engineer, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman.
Most recently, Washington Sundar has played for the team. Following his contract signing, Venkatesh gave a brief speech on the illustrious past of Lancashire and mentioned that playing in England will put his skill set to the test, which might help him become a better player.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to travel to England and play county cricket for the first time in my professional career. Indian footballers have long been welcomed to Lancashire, a very ancient county, by their clubs. The Hindu cited Venkatesh as stating, “I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of Farokh Engineer, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and most recently Washington Sundar in donning the Red Rose colours at Emirates Old Trafford.
“Putting my one-day and first-class cricketing skills to the test in English conditions will be extremely beneficial to my game. This summer, I intend to keep the crowd entertained and support my Lancashire colleagues in reaching their goals in both forms,” he continued.
Notably, the 29-year-old has no intention of extending his contract because he wants to participate in the forthcoming Duleep Trophy, which starts on September 5, and earn a spot in India’s white-ball team. Venkatesh was welcomed into the team by Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Performance, who said the player will give the young team experience.
In addition to offering a powerful middle-order batting option and another seam bowler who we can rely on with the ball, Venkatesh will give experience to a youthful team during the One-Day Cup, according to Chilton.