Ajinkya Rahane to skip County commitments with Leicestershire after hectic season

India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has decided to skip his commitments to Leicestershire in the ongoing County Championship due to hectic international commitments.

Rahane was to join the county side in June after the 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but was instead given a surprise call-up to India’s squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval. He subsequently travelled to the Caribbean for the two-match Test series against the West Indies.

Though Rahane was supposed to link up with the Foxes after the West Indies tour, the 35-year-old has instead opted to take a break instead of flying back to England.

The club said with those involvements previously not factored into his schedule, Rahane has now expressed his desire to take a break from cricket during August and September, meaning he will not feature for Leicestershire as planned.

“Firstly, we are fully understanding of Ajinkya’s situation. He has experienced a hectic schedule in recent months, both in India and travelling with the national team, and we accept his wishes to recover and spend some time with his family,” Director of Cricket Claude Henderson said in a statement issued by the club.

“We have been in constant communication with Ajinkya and accept how situations can change quickly in cricket. He is extremely grateful for our understanding and still hopes to play for Leicestershire one day.”

Australian Peter Handscomb will replace Rahane. Handscomb has extended his stay with the Foxes to feature in next month’s Metro Bank One Day Cup.

!

Australia international Peter Handscomb has extended his stay with the Club to play in next month’s @onedaycup.

He replaces Ajinkya Rahane, who will no longer be linking up with the Foxes following increased international commitments.

— Leicestershire CCC (@leicsccc) July 29, 2023

“Thankfully, we had planned for a situation like this, and we are delighted Peter is staying on with the team. He brings many qualities alongside his batting and wicketkeeping, including strong leadership, which is a massive help to Lewis (Hill) and the rest of the guys in our changing room,” Henderson said.

With inputs from PTI