Lancashire sign Venkatesh Iyer for One-Day Cup and two County games

Lancashire have signed India and Madhya Pradesh’s all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer for the ongoing One-Day Cup and two rounds of the County Championship. The 29-year-old is expected to be available for the One-Day Cup match against Kent on July 28.

England’s wicketkeeper-batter Phil Salt, who played with Iyer at Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2024, recommended his name to the club. Iyer will be available for five weeks before returning to India for the domestic season opener, the Duleep Trophy, which will get underway from September 5. 

"This is a deal we have worked hard to complete. Venkatesh will add experience to a young side during the One-Day Cup, whilst providing an explosive batting option in the middle-order and another seam bowler that we can turn to with the ball,” said Lancashire's Director of Cricket Mark Chilton.

"He will also be available for our County Championship matches against Surrey and Hampshire towards the end of August and gives us another high-quality overseas option to select from."

Iyer had a stunning IPL 2024, smashing 370 runs in 13 innings at an average of 46.25 and a strike rate of close to 160. Iyer, who has played two ODIs and nine T20Is for India, played a major role in KKR winning the IPL after 10 years.

"I am incredibly excited to head over to England and to have the opportunity to play county cricket for the first time in my career. Lancashire is a very historic county with a long history of welcoming Indian players to their Club,” said Iyer.

"To test my skills in both one-day and first-class cricket in English conditions is going to really benefit my game. I hope that I can entertain the fans and help my Lancashire team-mates to achieve their targets in both formats this summer."

Overall, Iyer has featured in 20 First-Class and 43 List A game. In red-ball cricket, Iyer has 1132 runs at an average of 37.73 and 15 wickets @ 33.06. In List A cricket, the all-rounder has 1458 runs @ 44.18 and a strike rate of 101.95. He also has 23 wickets to his name.

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