A total of eleven India international players were signed up to play county cricket this year, tempting us to form an XI. Here’s the team.
The balance is off, but it shouldn’t matter too much, since it isn’t an actual team. There’s a lack of a genuine wicketkeeper, with Prithvi Shaw taking up those duties due to a rogue, one-off U19 experience. It’s a good mix of youth and experience, and a tad staggered towards the bowling department, but filled with high talent nonetheless.
Cheteshwar Pujara has been named captain by virtue of his post at Sussex this year.
B Sai Sudharsan
Yet to turn 22, Sai Sudarshan is enjoying a breakout domestic season that has translated into a debut county stint. He hit one of the all-time great IPL final knocks in May – a 47-ball 96 – and already has five List A hundreds, averaging 68. Still uncapped, he earned a County Championship gig with reigning Division One champions Surrey.
Prithvi Shaw (wk)
Indian cricket’s enfant terrible, yet one of their most precocious talents, Shaw is not part of any India setup at the moment, so Northamptonshire secured his services. The stint was sensational until his injury: he smashed 429 runs in four innings, including a record-breaking 244, the third-highest List A score by an Indian. He once kept in an U19 game for Mumbai, which makes him eligible to be the hypothetical designated wicketkeeper.
Cheteshwar Pujara (c)
Pujara enjoyed a predictably record-breaking season as Sussex captain, finishing with 600 runs from 10 innings. He hit three centuries, extending a remarkable conversion rate, even as he lost his place in the India team. He returned to the county after a stupendous season in 2021/22, where he scored over a 1,000 runs.
Karun Nair
It’s been a long time since Nair hit headlines with an incredible, record-breaking Test triple century against England. Since then, his career trajectory has slipped downwards, and he has not played a first-class game since last June. But now, at 31, he joins Northamptonshire as a replacement for Sam Whiteman for three Championship games.
Ajinkya Rahane
This one comes with an asterisk. Rahane earned a comeback to the Test side after impressing in the Ranji Trophy and the IPL, playing in the World Test Championship final. This meant he had to pull out of his Leicestershire deal, which got delayed due to the final, and was eventually canned after he was named vice-captain for the West Indies tour.
Jayant Yadav
Jayant rose to prominence in the same series Nair got his triple ton, scoring a Test century from No.9 in a record partnership with Virat Kohli. An off-spinning all-rounder, he has been a regular across formats in domestic cricket, and recently led North Zone in the inter-zonal Duleep Trophy. Part of Middlesex in 2022, he joins them for four Championship games this time.
Umesh Yadav
India’s bustling quick is not always a first-team choice, although he still travels as a reserve in most India Test squads. With no Tests until December, and out of the white-ball teams, Umesh is set to play for Essex in place of Doug Bracewell. He was part of Middlesex last season.
Navdeep Saini
Saini hasn’t played for India since July 2021, although he returned to the Test squad in June on their tour to the West Indies. The comeback meant he could only play one game for Worcestershire, missing the next three fixtures he was initially contracted to play.
Jaydev Unadkat
Unadkat made his way back into the Test team after an incredible 12 years, and he also toured the Caribbean with India. In August, he signed a deal with Sussex to play alongside his Saurashtra and India teammate Pujara. He may have to miss the last of the four remaining games, due to the Irani Cup, where he is set to lead Saurashtra.
Yuzvendra Chahal
India’s premier white-ball leg-spinner not too long ago, Chahal finds himself out of India’s plans going into the World Cup. He is set to play three games for Kent in the County Championship. Interestingly, he has played just 33 first-class games since his debut in 2009, the last of which was in December.
Arshdeep Singh
India’s young left-arm quick made his county debut for Kent in June. He exhibited some of his trademark late swing before returning to the India setup for T20Is in the Caribbean and the Ireland tour that followed.
