New Delhi: India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will join Northamptonshire for its final One Day Cup match and the remaining five County Championship fixtures, said the club on Wednesday. Chahal will link up with the squad ahead of their trip to Canterbury before being available for the rest of the red-ball campaign.
This will be Chahal’s second stint in the United Kingdom’s domestic cricket circuit after spending time at Kent in the 2023 season, where he picked nine wickets in two of the club’s final three County Championship Division One matches.
“Yuzvendra is another high-profile overseas player who brings with him a wealth of experience and some incredible skills. His record speaks for itself and his wicket-taking ability will add strength to our attack,” said Northamptonshire head coach John Sadler.
In 35 first-class games, Chahal has picked 96 wickets, averaging 34.51 and has taken three four-wicket hauls and two five-fors. Chahal, who is yet to play Test cricket for India, has picked 121 wickets in 72 ODIs and 96 wickets in 80 T20Is.
Chahal, who missed out on selection for last year’s ODI World Cup at home, was with the victorious 15-member Indian team in this year’s T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, but didn’t get to play a single game.
Chahal, 34, became the first player in history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to take over 200 wickets when he took out Mohammad Nabi in the Rajasthan Royals-Mumbai Indians clash at Jaipur earlier this year.
Other Indians to have been part of the County Championship in the ongoing season include Karun Nair (first half) and Prithvi Shaw for Northamptonshire, Cheteshwar Pujara (first half) and Jaydev Unadkat (second half) for Sussex, B Sai Sudarshan for Surrey (one game), Ajinkya Rahane for Leicestershire and Venkatesh Iyer for Lancashire.
