Ravichandran Ashwin confirmed to play alongside Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma in English county cricket

India’s frontline spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is all set for a stint playing cricket in the English county season. According to a Cricinfo  report, with Ashwin being rested for the ODI series against Sri Lanka, he might turn up for Worcestershire as early as their 28 August match against Gloucestershire. The other Indians who will play in the 2017-18 English county season include Ishant Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara. While Sharma will play for Warwickshire, Pujara will continue his services for Nottinghamshire. [caption id=“attachment_3898315” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. AP[/caption] Worcestershire, the second placed team in division two, will face Nottinghamshire on 5 September that might see Indian teammates Ashwin and Pujara square off against each other. While Worcestershire was keen to rope in the services of Ravindra Jadeja, who has also been reste for the ODI series in Sri Lanka, there hasn’t been any confirmation on which county the left-arm spinner will play for this season. However, if the ODI series against Australia goes according to schedule and Ashwin is picked in the squad, the series starting on 17 September will restrict the all-rounder’s presence to only two Worcestershire matches. Former Indian pacer Zaheer Khan had credited his stint with Worcestershire in 2006 for improvement in his form. With India touring England in 2018, a county stint will help the Indian bowlers get acclimatised to the conditions. The stint with Worcestershire might also improve Ashwin’s chances of making it into the final eleven against England, unlike the last time when he got to play only two out of the five Tests. With Worcestershire trying to push their chances for a promotion to the first division, the county would like to have the services of Ashwin till the end of the season. India’s previous stints with various English counties have largely been fruitful with players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Kapil Dev gaining from the exposure offered. With the BCCI giving its approval to Ashwin and Virat Kohli having expressed interest in playing in the English county season, there might be a few more Indian cricketers who will feature in this county season.