Ravichandran Ashwin to join Nottinghamshire for second half of County Championship season
Thursday 23 May 2019 09:36, UK
Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will join Nottinghamshire for the second half of the County Championship season.
The 32-year-old will replace James Pattinson as Nottinghamshire's overseas player and will arrive at Trent Bridge at the end of June.
Ashwin is expected to play in six of the last seven red-ball games of the season; he will not play against Yorkshire in August due to international commitments.
Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mike Newell said: "We knew what we wanted to sign and that was a world-class bowler. Whether that was a fast or a slow bowler, we were prepared to look at all options.
"As it happens, we've signed a very good spinner, a very experienced spinner and one we hope can contribute with the bat as well.
"We've seen world-class slow bowlers have a huge match-winning effect in county cricket over many years. Ravi certainly has that potential - and we're very much looking forward to welcoming him to the squad and letting him loose on our opposition."
Ashwin, who is fourth in India's list of all-time wicket takers and has 65 Test caps for his country, previously spent time with Worcestershire in 2017.
He said: "I'm really looking forward to joining up with Nottinghamshire, to playing cricket at an iconic venue like Trent Bridge and hopefully contributing to some County Championship victories.
"I enjoyed my previous stint in England with Worcestershire. It's a good, competitive standard of cricket over there and I can't wait to get started."
Ashwin is not part of India's squad for the World Cup, which begins on May 30, and has not played a one-day international for his country since 2017.
He attracted criticism earlier this year during his time in the Indian Premier League with Kings XI Punjab when he dismissed Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler with a 'Mankad'.
