India's Krunal Pandya pens deal with Warwickshire

India's Krunal Pandya has signed a deal with the Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC) for their upcoming Royal London Cup campaign. The all-rounder will feature in all eight games for the County side in the competition that will be played between August 2 and 23.

Pandya made his ODI debut against England in 2021, where he ended up scoring the fastest fifty for a debutant in just 26 balls. 

So far, the Ahmedabad-born has played 5 ODIs and 19 T20Is for the Men in Blue.

Speaking about his association with Warwickshire, Pandya said, "I'm extremely excited to get the opportunity to play county cricket and to join such a history Club as Warwickshire.

"Edgbaston is a special place to play cricket and I can't wait to call it my home. I hope I can play my part in a successful 50-over campaign with the Club and I am looking forward to meeting my teammates. I would like to extend my gratitude to both Warwickshire County Cricket Club and BCCI for this opportunity."

Paul Farbrace, Director of Cricket at WCCC, expressed his delight over Pandya's signing.

"Krunal is an incredible signing for the Club, and I'm delighted to welcome him to Edgbaston. Krunal will bring a wealth of international experience to a team that will be desperate to do well.

"Due to our impressive T20 performances, we will lose players to The Hundred, but that's always going to happen to successful teams. The opportunity to add a world-renowned all-rounder to an exciting group is fantastic," said the former England men's head coach.

The left-arm spinner played for the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) after transferring from Mumbai Indians (MI), with whom he had won two trophies.

In his first season for LSG, Pandya scored 183 runs and picked up ten wickets from 14 appearances.

The 31-year-old plays his domestic cricket for Baroda and has 76 List-A and 9 First-Class games under his belt.