Ajinkya Rahane joins Hampshire for English county stint

Ajinkya Rahane will be playing for Hampshise in the English County Championship season from next month after the Division One club Hampshire confirmed his signing as an overseas player on Thursday.

Rahane, who will become the first India cricketer to represent Hampshire, will replace South Africa’s Aiden Markram who will finish his stint with Hampshire at the end of the Royal London One-Day Cup group stage in early May to join South Africa’s World Cup squad.

Markram was a late signing for the county side after Dimuth Karunaratne entered the running to lead Sri Lanka at the World Cup and was subsequently confirmed as captain.

“I am excited to be the first Indian to play for Hampshire, a county which has a glowing reputation,” Rahane said according to ESPN Cricinfo. “I hope to score runs and win as a team and would like to thank BCCI for allowing me to play.”

Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White said he was pleased to have a player of Rahane’s stature at the club.

“We’re delighted to attract a player of Ajinkya’s class and with both Aiden and Dimuth selected for the World Cup, we were obviously in the market for a top-order batsman,” White said. “Ajinkya showed an interest early on and the way things have played out it’s a great opportunity to get him over - we’re really excited to have him with us.”

First Published: Apr 25, 2019 22:07 IST