Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer has joined Lancashire for the 2021 Royal London Cup.
The India star will link up with the county on 15 July ahead of the 50-over tournament.
He will stay at Old Trafford for the month-long group stage of the competition.
The 26-year-old will be hoping to play a big role for Lancashire once he finishes this year’s Indian Premier League.
The top-order batsman averages nearly 45 in ODI cricket and has eight half-centuries and one ton to his name so far. He is currently looking to add to those number as India face England in ODIs.
Iyer will follow in the footsteps of Sourav Ganguly, Murali Kartik, Farokh Engineer and VVS Laxman to represent the Red Rose.
Speaking after agreeing to join Lancashire for the 2021 Royal London Cup, Shreyas said: “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.
“Emirates Old Trafford is a world-class international stadium and I am looking forward to meeting my teammates and the supporters of the club.”
Lancashire Cricket will start their Royal London Cup campaign at home to Sussex on 23 July.
Iyer is ‘Shining Light’ of New Generation
Lancashire’s director of cricket, Paul Allott, welcomed Iyer’s arrival.
He added: “Shreyas is one of the shining lights of a new generation of Indian batsman and a leader, and we’re delighted that an opportunity to bring him to Emirates Old Trafford has presented itself.
“With the expectation that we will be fielding a younger side in this year’s Royal London Cup due to the Hundred, it was important that we brought in a top-order batsman with experience at the highest level to enhance our prospects in the tournament.
“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.”
Meanwhile, the Lancashire Lightning have recently added RCB and New Zealand batting prospect Finn Allen for the T20 Blast.
The 21-year-old made headlines during his breakthrough season when he powered Wellington Firebirds to the 2020/21 Super Smash title, scoring a chart-topping 512 runs at a strike rate of almost 194.
