The veteran Indian batsmen, Ajinkya Rahane will be joining Hampshire as their overseas player from the middle of May until early July. He will be available for eight County Championship matches, subject to his visa clearance.

Rahane, 30, will replace batsman Aiden Markram, who is to join South Africa’s World Cup squad. Confirming the news while talking ti BBC Radio Solent,  Hampshire director of cricket Giles White said, “We’re delighted to attract a player of his class and he was really keen to come.”

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The Indian team’s Test deputy skipper will be Hampshire’s first overseas player from the country and is expected to make his debut against Warwickshire at Edgbaston from 14 May.

Describing the same further, Giles said, “We’re delighted to get him over here, it’s a great fit for us and he showed an interest in coming to play county cricket at the back end of last winter. It’s different conditions over here, but he has played several times before at the Ageas Bowl and enjoyed batting here. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can offer both on and off the pitch.”

Rahane is currently plying his trade for Rajasthan Royal (RR)s in this year’s India Premier League (IPL) under the leadership of Australia’s Steve Smith. He was having a rough outing in the ongoing season before scoring a century in the last game as he was missing the international last limited-overs cricket for quite some time now. Even, the last game he played for India in the blue jersey was way back in February 2018 and then went out of contention from ODI and T20I squads. Subsequently, he didn’t find a place in the 15-man squad for the World Cup as well, scheduled to start on Thursday, May 30 in England and Wales.