Manchester: India batsman Shreyas Iyer has joined Lancashire for the 2021 Royal London Cup, the English county club announced Monday. “Lancashire Cricket is delighted to announce the overseas signing of Indian international batsman Shreyas Iyer for the 2021 Royal London Club,” the club wrote its official Twitter handle. Shreyas Iyer has so far played 21 ODIs and 29 T20s for India.
Lancashire officials said Shreyas will arrive July 15 at the Old Trafford ahead of the start of the 50 over tournament. He will remain with the ‘Red Rose’ for the duration of the month-long group stage.
“Lancashire is a legendary name in English Cricket with a long-standing association with Indian cricket. I am extremely humbled and honoured to carry the legacy forward of greats like Farokh Engineer, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman at Lancashire,” said Shreyas.
“Old Trafford is a world class international stadium. I am looking forward to meeting my teammates and the supporters of the club,” added Shreyas. Incidentally Shreyas is the captain of IPL side Delhi Capitals.
Lancashire’s Director of Cricket, Paul Allott spoke highly about the Indian cricketer. He said Shreyas is one of the shining lights of a new generation of Indian batsmen.
“Shreyas has experience of captaining in an IPL final as well as playing in top level international fixtures. So his on-field skills, and ability to remain calm in high pressure situations, will serve our young squad well this summer. His current form against England has been hugely impressive,” said Allott.
Lancashire will kick off their Royal London Cup campaign at home to Sussex July 23.
The club also said that Lancashire’s long association with Indian cricket, stretches back over 50 years. It was in 1968 former India stumper Engineer joined the county. Since Engineer retired, four other Indians – Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, Laxman and Ganguly – have played for the club.