India’s star debutant Manav Suthar has signed a short-term deal with English County club Warwickshire for the next two rounds of the Championship, the club made the announcement on Wednesday. Warwickshire said that the left-arm spinner will be part of the next two rounds – the game against Yorkshire at Scarborough from June 12 to 15 June and the next fixture against Somerset at Taunton the following week.
“We’re delighted to welcome Manav to the Bears at a really exciting time for the team. We’ve played some good red-ball cricket already this season, and Manav will bring a new aspect to our bowling attack,” Warwickshire Performance Director James Thomas said in a statement. “It shows how highly he’s rated in India after his selection to their Test team last week, so it’s going to be great to have him around the group.”
Suthar’s sensational debut hogs the limelight
The Rajasthan all-rounder Suthar made his India debut during the one-off Test match against Afghanistan in Mullanpur and scalped a six-wicket haul in the first innings. He became just the seventh Indian spinner to have taken a fifer on debut, and his 6/33 became the third-best figures by an Indian bowler on Test debut. Narendra Hirwani’s 8/61 and 8/75 in the two innings on his debut are the two best spells.
Suthar was adjudged the Player of the Match for his stellar outings. He also scored 28 from 41 balls in the only innings India batted during their innings and 300-run win over the Afghanistan side. The all-rounder opened up on his short-term deal with the English club. “I’m incredibly excited to be joining Warwickshire for the next two County Championship games. The team have started the season very well, so I’m hoping that I can play a part in helping them in their push for the title,” he said.
Suthar created more history
Not only with the ball, but Suthar also impressed many with the bat and on the field. He scored a quickfire 28 from 41 balls in the only innings India batted as they posted a huge 564/8d. He hit a couple of sixes and a couple of fours in his stroke-filled innings. The Rajasthan all-rounder also took three catches across the two innings.
Meanwhile, Suthar has become just the fourth player in the history of Test cricket to have achieved a rare triple of having scored 25 or more runs, having taken five or more wickets and having taken three or more catches. Before him, only Albert Trott, Alex Kennedy and Joel Garner had achieved this troika of records on debut.ย
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