5 Indian cricketers you didn't know played county cricket

It is very rare to see Indian cricketers play in overseas tournaments, especially County cricket in England. But of late, the trend is changing. Though the BCCI hasn’t given permission for players to play in various T20 leagues around the world, it is an encouraging sign to see Indian players sign up for a County stint with the likes of R. Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara gaining vital experience in English conditions.

Out of the 289 Test, 218 ODI and 69 T20I International players to have played for India, only 35 (including Pujara and Ashwin) have played the County championship. And there are a few Indians who have done exceedingly well there.

Be it Farokh Engineer, Bishan Singh Bedi, who took a staggering 394 wickets for Northamptonshire, present India coach, Ravi Shastri, who played 60 games for Glamorgan scoring almost 3300 runs, it has helped the players improve their game.

In fact, it has helped several other famous Indian players in resurrecting their careers - among them Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and many others.

But here we look at 5 Indians you didn’t know played County cricket at some point in their careers.

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#5 Piyush Chawla

Piyush Chawla made his first-class debut at the very young age of 17. He had already castled Sachin Tendulkar with a well-disguised googly in a Challenger Series match, which is one of his main weapons

Despite making his international debut in 2006 against England in a Test match, he failed to earn a permanent spot in the Indian team, but played in the county championship for a couple of seasons.

But since falling out of the reckoning for the national side in 2008, Chawla decided to try county cricket in 2010 when he signed up for Sussex. He picked up 36 wickets in 6 games in his first season, which helped him earn a recall to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup in 2010. He also went on to play the 2011 World Cup but was soon dropped again after poor performances in the mega event.

With the Uttar Pradesh leggie nowhere in the scheme of things in 2013, he went back to England for another County stint representing Somerset.

He played only four games, picking up 27 wickets in 2013. Chawla hasn't been able to add to his 3 Test, 25 ODI and 7 T20I international games but has been a regular member of KKR in the IPL since 2014 and has continued to represent Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit.

#4 RP Singh

RP Singh is one in the long list of Indian pacers who seem to have faded away after a bright start. Another under-19 World Cup product, Rudra Pratap Singh had the ability to move the new ball both ways and that swing became lethal with his accuracy.

The Uttar Pradesh left-arm seamer represented Leicestershire in 2007 only for two games as his county stint was cut short due to international duty.

But the time he spent there helped him fine tune his skills. His experience there benefitted him and Indian team a lot as his performances improved.

He took 12 wickets in 3 Tests in England that year to contribute in India’s 1-0 series win. He later inspiringly spearheaded India’s attack in the T20 World Cup and also led an inspired bowling effort to help India beat Australia at Perth in January 2008.

But unfortunately, he hasn't been able to carry his form and his consistency dropped. Thus, he last represented India in 2011 in England. He has continued to play domestic cricket, shifting his base to Gujarat where he spearheaded the bowling attack, leading them to a Ranji trophy title in the 2016/17 season.

#3 Mohammed Kaif

Mohammed Kaif will always be remembered for two things. One, he is one of the best fielders to have played for India. The partnership he formed with Yuvraj Singh in the point and the cover region was fantastic. Two, the innings at Lord’s in the NatWest final where he scored an unbeaten 87 to help India chase down 325 from 146/5.

But little do fans know that he is one of the 35 Indian players to have played County cricket. He played 9 games across two seasons for Derbyshire and Leicestershire in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

Kaif didn’t have a great time in England as he scored a paltry 388 in 17 innings at a poor average of 22.82. So, England was not quite a happy place for Kaif in first-class cricket. He never managed to earn a permanent spot in Tests but remained a key member of the ODI team until his form dipped drastically in December 2006, following which he was dropped and never returned to the squad.

#2 Pragyan Ojha

After Bishan Singh Bedi, Pragyan Ojha was one of the best left-arm off-spinners to play for India. With 113 Test wickets in 24 Tests, Ojha never got the credit he deserved, as he mostly played with dominant spinners who hogged most of the limelight such as Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Not many people know that Ojha has played in the County Championship. Although he played only four games for Surrey in 2011, his performances were noteworthy. He took 24 wickets at a brilliant average of 12.95.

He played a key role in helping Surrey secure the Division two title. The county stint helped Ojha vastly as he picked up 71 wickets in the next 13 Tests. Unfortunately, the 31-year old Hyderabadi hasn’t represented India since 2013 as Sachin’s farewell Test was the last time he played.

#1 Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh is one of the cleanest hitters of the cricket ball. When he is in full flow, no boundary is too big for him. His debut innings in international cricket was against Australia and he smashed the likes of McGrath, Lee and Gillespie to all parts scoring a blistering 84. Those were just signs of what was to follow.

The partnership with Kaif in the Natwest Final at Lord’s, six sixes in an over in the T20 World Cup in 2007 and the Man of the Series in the 2011 World Cup. Yuvraj has more often than not been there during the key moments in Indian cricket.

But fans might not know one thing about Yuvraj and that is his county stint with Yorkshire. He played 7 games for them in 2003 becoming only the second Indian to represent Yorkshire. But his first-class record in the County Championship isn’t great. In 12 innings, he scored a paltry 145 runs with just one fifty.

But Yuvraj Singh holds the prime record of being the first Indian to play a T20 game when he played against Leicestershire scoring a belligerent 71 off 37 balls.

Later in 2003, Yuvraj made his Test debut, but couldn't quite fix his place in the Test team but was still a prolific performer in limited-overs cricket. He made vital contributions in two World Cup winnings campaigns (2007 T20 and 2011 WC).

But later in 2011, he was diagnosed with cancer and he fought hard to win the health battle. He successfully made a return to international cricket in 2012 but hasn't quite rediscovered his old form and has been in and out of the Indian team since then.