Arshdeep Singh joins Kent for Championship

Arshdeep Singh, India's left-arm swing bowler, has agreed to play five County Championship matches for Kent.

Subject to approval, Arshdeep will be available for home fixtures against Surrey and Warwickshire as well as travelling to Northamptonshire, Essex and Nottinghamshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship in June and July.

Arshdeep enjoyed a breakout season for Punjab Kings in IPL 2022, becoming their go-to bowler in the death overs and ultimately taking 10 wickets from 14 games at an economy rate of 7.70.

The 24-year-old Arshdeep made his T20I debut in England last July. He played all three of his ODIs to date in New Zealand in November and now has 29 international appearances for India, for whom he was a standout performer at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. In seven career first-class matches to date, he has taken 25 wickets at an average of 23.84 and economy rate of 2.92.

Arshdeep said he had heard good things about Kent from Rahul Dravid, India's current men's head coach who played for the club in 2000.

"I am excited to play red-ball cricket in England and continue to improve my skills in the first-class game," Arshdeep said. "Rahul Dravid has already told me it is a club with a great history."

He joins Kane Richardson, the Australia pace bowler who will play in the Vitality Blast, and South African spin-bowling allrounder George Linde, who is in the second half of his two-year deal as an all-format player, as overseas players confirmed for the county so far.

Paul Downton, Kent's director of cricket, said: "We're delighted to have a player of Arshdeep's potential join us for five matches this summer. He has demonstrated that he has world-class skills with the white ball, and I am very confident he will be able to put those skills to good use with the red ball in the County Championship."