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Lancashire Cricket signed India international, Venkatesh Iyer. The batting all-rounder joins the Club on an initial contract for the Metro Bank One-Day Cup and the following two rounds of Vitality County Championship matches in late-August. Iyer has made 11 international appearances for India in white ball cricket and played a starring role for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) this year, as they lifted the Indian Premier League (IPL) title. The 29-year-old struck unbeaten half-centuries in both the qualifier and final to finish IPL 2024 with 370 runs from 13 innings, scored at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 159.
A tall and powerful left-handed batter – who, in addition, bowls right-arm medium pace - Iyer also represents Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy - India’s premier first-class competition. From 20 first-class matches, Iyer has scored over 1,000 runs at an average of 38, picking up 15 wickets. In List A cricket, Iyer averages 44 with the bat and has a further 23 wickets to his name.
Speaking after signing his contract with the Club, Venkatesh Iyer said: “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.
“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.” Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Performance, Mark Chilton, also commented: “This is a deal we have worked hard to complete, and I am really pleased to welcome Venkatesh to the Club. He comes highly recommended after playing alongside Phil Salt during this year’s IPL and we are excited to see what he can bring to our side during the next month.
“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. He will also be available for our County Championship matches against Surrey and Hampshire towards the end of August and gives us another high-quality overseas option to select from.”
With Inputs from Press Release
