Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's contract with Yorkshire for 2020 County Championship has been terminated.
West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran and South African spinner Keshav Maharaj were also due to join Yorkshire. Their contracts, too, have been suspended amid the lack of professional cricket in the United Kingdom due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I really appreciate the players' understanding in this matter,” said Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon.
“We have been in regular contact with the players and their agents throughout this Covid-19 pandemic.
“They have been extremely professional and appreciate the uncertainty facing counties at present. We hope that we will be able to see them at Headingley in the future.”
The 33-year-old Ashwin has played 71 Tests since debuting in 2011. He has also collected 111 ODIs and 46 T20Is, but has not played limited-overs cricket for India since July 2017.
“See, one thing is for sure. I'm actually fighting my own benchmarks in a lot of ways. The number of games that I've managed to win for my country and for myself, the number of successes I've had and the excellence I've shown is always measured up in equal parlance when I travel away from the country, which is great,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
Ashwin and Pujara abroad
Ashwin has also played for Worcestershire in English county cricket. Indian team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara's stint with Gloucestershire, meanwhile, has also been suspended amid the spread of the virus.
“Increasingly the number of games I've played in England, I've started realising that for a spinner to be bowling in alien conditions and to be able to repeat similar numbers as at home, you need to be bowling in all the possible right times of the game, first. And, secondly, you do need a little bit of luck,” added Ashwin.
“For me to able to deliver on a consistent basis abroad there are a lot of factors beyond just me that need to go into it.”
Ashwin is part of the Delhi Capitals squad for this year's edition of the Indian Premier League. They used to be called the Delhi Daredevils. The Delhi franchise has never won an IPL title in 12 seasons.
