Adding to the list of Indian cricketers opting to play County cricket in England, all-rounder Axar Patel has signed up for Durham for the final six County Championship fixtures.
Axar, who is representing the Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing eleventh edition of Indian Premiere League, will make his County debut on August 19 against Galmorgan in Cardiff.
The IPL commences on May 27, with no limited overs fixtures lined up for India, Axar has a window of more than three months before the ODI and T20I series against England.
The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder will be available for three home and three away games for Durahm during the English summer.
The 24-year-old joins captain Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron to play English County this season. Kohli meanwhile will skip the one-off Test match against Afghanistan in June to prepare for the five-match Test series against England, starting from August 1 by playing for Surrey.
Axar’s IPL captain, R Ashiwn, who represented Worcestershire last season is also in line to sign a County contract. If it does materialize then it will take the number Indian players playing County this season to six – by far the highest in recent memory.
Axar has taken 54 wickets and scored 249 runs in 49 limited overs appearances.