Ajinkya Rahane joins Leicestershire for County Championship ahead of India's busy Test season

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Ajinkya Rahane will be joining Leicestershire for their last five matches of the County Championship, and all the matches in the One Day Cup, the club said in an official statement on Thursday, June 27.

The former India captain would cover for Wiaan Mulder, who is expected to be in South Africa’s plans for the Proteas’ multi-format tour of the Caribbean throughout August.

Notably, the Mumbai batter was due to link up with Leicestershire last summer before international commitments altered his availability. However, he was dropped once again after India's Test series against West Indies in July last year.

Rahane, who has gone on record to say that he wishes to play 100 Test matches for India, would be eyeing another India comeback through his performances for Leicestershire. India are scheduled to play two Test matches against Bangladesh, three against New Zealand and five against Australia between September to January 2025.

Rahane has accumulated over 26,000 runs across formats (First-Class, List-A and T20), having struck 51 hundreds with a top score of an unbeaten 265.

Playing for the 'Men in Blue', he has collected more than 8,000 runs, including 15 centuries, along with a best knock of 188 in the New Zealand Test in 2016.

"I'm really excited to have another opportunity to come to Leicestershire. I've built a strong rapport with Claude (Henderson) and Alfonso (Thomas), and I'm looking forward to playing for the Club this summer," Rahane said in a club statement.

"I followed the team's results last year and was very impressed with what I saw. I'm hoping to enjoy my cricket and contribute to more success for the Club this season."

Rahane is expected to arrive in mid-July, with his first contest being away to Notts Outlaws in the One Day Cup on July 24. "We are thrilled to welcome someone of Ajinkya's quality to Leicestershire. It was unfortunate that Ajinkya's schedule didn't quite work with ours last year. But, it's a massive boost to have secured his services for the business end of this season," commented Leicestershire's Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson.

"He holds immense experience and vital leadership qualities, which will be hugely beneficial to the team alongside his run-scoring ability. Ajinkya's arrival also presents a fantastic opportunity for our batters to learn from one of the game's best."

(With PTI Inputs)