Indians in county cricket: Cheteshwar Pujara has been a damning force in the county fabric recently and ever since he has got his momentum going, he has been a spectacle to savor for the Indian cricket fans. He stitched two consecutive centuries in the Royal London ODI cup, extending his flattering brilliance for Sussex to another glorious chapter as the latter romped over a struggling Surrey in an askew encounter.
As Pujara continues his brilliance across the county circuit in all his glory, finding new ways to torment the bowlers, here are five Indian cricketers who have left an impressive legacy in the history of county cricket, making noises for all the right reasons.
#1 Mohammad Azharuddin (Derbyshire)
The erstwhile Indian captain who found himself at the end of some serious disrepute after allegations of match-fixing, doled out his fame across the seas as he set up the county fabric ablaze with a fire of his own. Known for his elegance, Azhar used to travel all the way to England to play during the off-season, also keeping his skills as sharp as he could. Azhar’s particular knock against David Graveney was one innings to admire. He would eventually go on to lead India to some reckoning performances that were backed by some decent practice on the seam tracks.
#2 Anil Kumble (Northamptonshire, Leicester, and Surrey)
India’s finest leggie to date who rattled records like none other, Anil Kumble found a decent stride on the distant shores of England as he featured for Northamptonshire in 1995 after Azhar played a crucial role in requesting Allan Lamb in registering the services of Kumble in place of an injured Curtly Ambrose. Kumble immediately accepted the offer and would churn out of scintillating figures of 105 wickets at the end of the season with 64 of them coming for Northants. Stints followed this season in Leicester and Surrey where he would leave significant impacts followed by an iconic outing against West Indies for India.
What @anilkumble1074 will not tell you is that he was the HIGHEST wicket-taker in all county cricket that season, pocketing 105 wickets @ 20.4. No leg-spinner had picked up 100 wickets in a season since '71. Wisden, echoing "all of English cricket" called him "a fabulous bowler." https://t.co/GMSp3mjvBW
— M.R. Sharan (@sharanidli) August 9, 2021
#3 Javagal Srinath (Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, and Durham)
The ace Indian fast-bowler joined Gloucester in 1995, following in the hallowed footsteps of Caribbean icon, Courtney Walsh. The Caribbean pace premier would grace Srinath with important bowling tips that would eventually turn him into the fast-bowling machine that would play a significant role in racking up figures of 9 for 76 against Glamorgan, a spell that still remains iconic in the county fabric. He would also go on to represent Leicestershire and Durham in the early 2000s with tenures that would produce varying success for a transformed Srinath in his twilight.
#4 Zaheer Khan (Worcestershire and Surrey)
The iconic Indian quick produced some serious heat and was an elemental figure for India’s exploits in the 2011 World Cup where he bagged 21 wickets and made spells that would leave batters in utter disarray. Zaheer first appeared on the county shores in 2004 where he was roped in by Surrey to supersede the injured Saqlain Mushtaq. Despite very modest returns for Surrey, he would be recalled to England to represent Worcestershire this time, and coming in place of an injured Shoaib Akhtar, Zak would be steamrolling the batters convincingly that would include a magical spell where he claimed 9 wickets in a county inning and had the keeper not dropped a sitter, it would have been the first time in the history of a county innings that a bowler would have claimed all 10 wickets in an innings.
#5 Rahul Dravid (Kent)
A certified legend of the sport, Rahul Dravid sprinkled his stardust across all formats of the game, and in whatever color he played, he was significantly successful. He would stitch together essays of glory and when he arrived in England to star for Kent, Shane Warne would realize that he was probably up against India’s finest in the most extended format of the sport. Dravid’s instrumental 137 and 73 helped Kent to bag a humdinger 6-wicket victory over their opposition.
In the recently concluded game between Kent and Warwickshire, Navdeep Saini (5/72) became the first Indian cricketer to take a fifer for Kent in County Championship.
Most wickets by Indians for Kent in County cricket :-
7* – Navdeep Saini
4 – Rahul Dravid#LVCountyChamp— Rhitankar Bandyopadhyay (@rhitankar8616) July 22, 2022
