Rahane to play for Leicestershire after West Indies tour

Senior India batter Ajinkya Rahane will be plying his trade for the English county side Leicestershire in Division 2, after the two-Test series against the West Indies next month.

Rahane, a former India captain, recently made a successful comeback to the Indian team during the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month.

Rahane had inked the deal with Leicestershire back in January and was supposed to play eight first class games and also the entire Royal London Cup (domestic 50 over competition) between June to September, after the completion of his IPL 2023 stint with Chennai Super Kings.

However, the plan had to be shelved since he made a comeback to Indian Test team and couldn't join his county side immediately after the IPL was over.

"Ajinkya, after the two Tests in West Indies (which is supposed to end on July 24), is supposed to fly directly to England and join Leicestershire for the remainder of the season.  He will play Royal London Cup in August and a possible four County games in September as he is unlikely to be a part of white ball scheme of things," a BCCI source told PTI.

This will be Rahane's second county stint, having played for Hampshire in the 2019 season when he was dropped from the ODI World Cup side.

Rahane, who scored 89 in India's first innings in the WTC final, also completed the milestone of 5000 runs in Test cricket.

While most of the top Indian players will shift their focus on 50-overs cricket with an eye on the ODI World Cup this year, Rahane will get more red-ball game time through the month of September, before he is back in India for the full fledged Indian domestic season, followed by a tour of South Africa in December.