Shreyas Iyer joins Lancashire for Royal London Cup

Manchester: Indian cricketer Shreyas Iyer has joined Lancashire for the 2021 Royal London Cup, the English county club announced on Monday.

“Lancashire Cricket is delighted to announce the overseas signing of Indian international batsman Shreyas Iyer for the 2021 Royal London Club, the club wrote its official Twitter handle.

Iyer, who has played 21 ODIs and 29 T20Is for India, will be available with the club for the month-long league stage after arriving on July 15.

He will become the sixth Indian after Farokh Engineer, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Dinesh Mongia and Murali Kartik to play for the club.

Speaking on the signing, Iyer 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,” he added.

Lancashire’s Director of Cricket, Paul Allott, on his part said Shreyas is one of the shining lights of a new generation of Indian batsmen.

“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,” said Allott.

“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. His current form against England has been hugely impressive,” he added.

Lancashire will kickstart their Royal London Cup campaign at home against Sussex on July 23. (UNI)