Venkatesh Iyer has inked a deal with Lancashire for his maiden stint in County Cricket. The batting allrounder will feature in the One-Day Cup and a couple of County Championship games.
Venkatesh was central to Kolkata Knight Riders’ third IPL title and has also represented India in white-ball cricket. The southpaw has a fantastic record in List A cricket where he averages over 44 at a strike rate over 100.
“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,” Iyer said in a statement. “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.”
Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Performance, stated that Venkatesh’s two games in the Championship will come against Surrey and Hampshire. “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,” Chilton highlighted.