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In a significant development, India fast bowler Navdeep Saini has become the latest sub-continent cricketer to join the ongoing domestic cricket season in England, as he has signed a contract with Kent in English County Championship and Royal London Cup.
In a released statement, Kent's Director of Cricket, Paul Downton has revealed that Indian pacer will wear his preferred shirt number 96 and will follow the footsteps of legendary Indian batter Rahul Dravid by becoming the second Indian Test cricketer to play for the county.
"Navdeep Saini is a pacer of highest quality. We are excited to have him in our camp and we believe he will provide much-needed edge to our pace attack. He is a tested bowler and we are confident of his capabilities," said Kent's Director.
Responding to his new association with Kent, Saini expressed gratitude towards the Kent management and assured that he will give his 100 per cent to Kent.
"Its a great opportunity for me to play in such a highly-competitive contest. I am thankful that they have shown trust on me and I would like to give my all to win games for Kent," said Navdeep Saini.
Notably, the 29-year-old has played all formats of the game ever since making debut in T20 internationals for India in August 2019. Saini is widely regarded as one of the top-five fastest Indian bowler in world cricket, and has scalped 148 wickets in first-class cricket at an average of 28.80. He has a career bowling economy of 2.92.
Apart from Navdeep Saini, Indian Test veteran Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex), Washington Sundar (Lancashire), Krunal Pandya (Warwickshire) and Umesh Yadav (Middlesex) have already made their appearances in Country Championships. Earlier, Saini was part of the national set-up when Team India travelled to Sri Lanka under the captaincy of Shikhar Dhawan. Saini represented inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals in the 15th edition of Indian Premier League, and toured England as a net bowler with Team India for one-off rescheduled Test against England in Birmingham at the start of this month.