Shreyas Iyer to ply his trade for Lancashire in this year's Royal London Cup
Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer will play for Lancashire in this year's Royal London Cup. In the window available post-conclusion of the IPL, Iyer will fly to the United Kingdom to take part in the 50-over competition.
Lancashire Cricket expressed their delight at the signing and revealed that Shreyas Iyer will arrive at Old Trafford on July 15. He will stay with the team for almost a month.
With the signing, Iyer has joined an elite group of cricketers who have played for Lancashire in their careers. The likes of Farokh Engineer, Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly have all plied their trade for the county team.
"We're excited to announce the signing of Indian international batsman @ShreyasIyer15 for this summer's @RoyalLondonCup," Lancashire wrote in a Tweet.
"Extremely humbled and honoured" - Shreyas Iyer
While speaking about the move, Shreyas Iyar acknowledged that Lancashire is a legendary name in English cricket. He expressed his happiness in carrying forward the legacy of some of the Indian greats.
“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," Shreyas Iyer said.
Paul Allott, Lancashire's Director of Cricket, said they were delighted to have Shreyas Iyer on board. Since quite a few Lancashire cricketers might miss the Royal London Cup due to The Hundred, he opined that Shreyas Iyer will help bring some experience into the squad.
“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," said the Lancashire Director.
“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," Allott said.
In the 103 List-A games he's played so far, Shreyas Iyer has scored 3,970 runs at an average of just over 45.