Krunal Pandya signs with Warwickshire for Royal London Cup

Krunal Pandya, the India spin-bowling allrounder, will play county cricket for the first time this summer after agreeing a deal to join Warwickshire for the Royal London Cup.

Krunal, 31, is not involved in India's ODI or T20I squads for their series against England this month and will join Washington Sundar (Lancashire) and Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex) in the domestic 50-over competition, which starts on August 2.

The launch of the Hundred last year has diminished the standing of the Royal London Cup, with England's best white-ball players unavailable for county duty while they play in the Hundred.

But active Indian players are not permitted to play in T20 leagues outside of the IPL by the BCCI, including the Hundred, and the involvement of three prominent players is a boost for the Royal London Cup's standing.

"Krunal is an incredible signing for the club, and I'm delighted to welcome him to Edgbaston," Paul Farbrace, Warwickshire's director of cricket, said. "Krunal will bring a wealth of international experience to a team that will be desperate to do well."

Warwickshire are due to lose at least 10 players to the Hundred, with further spots up for grabs at next week's domestic wildcard draft. Their 50-over team will feature several young players and they hope that Krunal will act as a mentor for them.

"Due to our impressive T20 performances, we will lose players to the Hundred, but that's always going to happen to successful teams," Farbrace added. "We believe this is a fantastic opportunity for our young players to learn from Krunal and I'm sure he will be excited to help them develop their skills too."

"I'm really excited to get the opportunity to play county cricket and to join such a historic club as Warwickshire," Krunal said. "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."