Ruturaj Gaikwad to join Yorkshire for County Championship, One-Day Cup

Leeds (England): Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad will join Yorkshire for five matches of the County Championship’s Division One as well as the One-Day Cup.

Gaikwad will link up with the Yorkshire squad ahead of their County match against Surrey at Scarborough in July and will remain with the team until the end of the season, the club said on its website.

The 28-year-old is currently a part of the India A squad on the tour of England where they have played two four-day unofficial Tests against England Lions and their last assignment will be an intra-squad four-day match in Beckenham against the senior side from June 13-16.

"Captain of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy, the Pune-native is a highly accomplished batter with six international ODI caps alongside his 23 appearances in IT20’s,” Yorkshire said on their website.

“The right-hander can bat anywhere in the top four and has shown versatility when required to step up and open the batting for India.” "It has always been a goal of mine to experience cricket in this country and there is no bigger Club in England than Yorkshire," Gaikwad stated.

“I know how important it is that I hit the ground running at what will be a crucial part of the season. We have some vital games in the County Championship and the One-Day Cup is a great opportunity to win some silverware.” Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath hoped Gaikward's addition would bring "extra solidity" to the team.

“He is a very accomplished cricketer with a natural all-round game that is well suited to the cricket we want to play. Ruturaj will give us some extra solidity in our batting lineup whilst having that ability to score quick runs when required. He’s an exciting talent and one I know is highly rated across the game," he said.

Yorkshire are currently placed second last in the 10-team Division One points table with one win, four defeats and two drawn games so far.