Netherlands all-rounder Colin Ackermann has been named Leicestershire's captain ahead of England's 2020 county cricket season.
Ackermann previously captained Leicestershire in limited-overs competition. He has since succeeded former first-class captain Paul Horton, too.
“We are absolutely delighted that Colin has taken on the captaincy role,” said Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon.
“It is important that our captain plays in all formats. Colin impressed during the T20 campaign with his leadership skills. He has the respect of everybody in the club and we look forward to an exciting time ahead.
“We would also like to thank Paul for being the previous captain and continuing to be a role model as well as a key senior member of the team.”
The 28-year-old Ackermann was born in South Africa. He played several years of first-class cricket for the Warriors franchise and Eastern Province provincial team before pursuing a career in England – and has also collected 11 T20Is for the Dutch.
“It is obviously a huge honour and privilege to captain this club. Nixon approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I wanted to do it, and obviously it was an easy decision for me,” he added.
“Paul did a fantastic job over the last two years. He led the team very well but his job is not finished just yet, I will still lean on him for advice throughout the season as well as Chris Wright and Mark Cosgrove, the other senior players in the team.”
County cricket and the coronavirus
Whether the 2020 county cricket season goes ahead as scheduled remains in the balance. The England and Wales Cricket Board have already suspended recreational cricket as a preventative measure against the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has seen many global sporting events postponed or cancelled, including cricket's Everest Premier League, South Africa's ODI series in India, the T20I series between the World XI and Asia XI in Bangladesh and New Zealand's limited-overs tour of Australia.
The start of this year's Indian Premier League has been postponed from 29 March to 15 April for similar reasons. It might be subject to more change from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
