Ruturaj Gaikwad to join Yorkshire for Championship, One-Day Cup

India's Ruturaj Gaikwad has signed to play for Yorkshire. Top-order batter Gaikwad is expected to be available for five County Championship matches, starting with Surrey's visit to Scarborough in July up until the end of the season, as well as the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

Gaikwad, 28, has played six ODIs and 23 T20Is for his country, and is currently part of the India A squad touring England. He has a first-class average of 41.77, with seven hundreds, and is even more prolific in List A cricket, averaging 56.15 alongside 16 hundreds.

"I'm excited to be joining up with Yorkshire for the rest of the English domestic season," Gaikwad said. "It has always been a goal of mine to experience cricket in this country and there is no bigger club in England than Yorkshire.

"I know how important it is that I hit the ground running at what will be a crucial part of the season. We have some vital games in the County Championship and the One-Day Cup is a great opportunity to win some silverware."

Gaikwad, who captains Chennai Super Kings, has not played since early April after being ruled out of the rest of the IPL by an elbow injury.

Anthony McGrath, Yorkshire's head coach, said: "I'm extremely pleased to see Ruturaj sign with us for the second half of the season. He is a very accomplished cricketer with a natural all-round game that is well suited to the cricket we want to play.

"Ruturaj will give us some extra solidity in our batting line-up whilst having that ability to score quick runs when required. He's an exciting talent and one I know is highly rated across the game."

Gavin Hamilton, general manager of cricket, added: "Ruturaj has a proven record in all formats and is a multi-faceted cricketer that will strengthen us greatly in the second half of the season. Everyone at Yorkshire CCC is excited by Ruturaj's signing and we look forward to welcoming him in July."