On Tuesday, Australian batter Peter Handscomb has signed a deal with Leicestershire, presenting himself an opportunity to press his case for inclusion in national senior squads for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final against India and the Ashes series.
The batter will be filling in for Ajinkya Rahane and will be available for the first six rounds of the Championship. Rahane’s Indian Premier League (IPL) commitments with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will keep him busy till early June. Rahane will play both four-day and 50-over-cricket in the second half of the season.
Leicestershire had previously agreed to deal with Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique to fill up for Rahane, but the batters’ likely selection for the white-ball series against New Zealand meant he became unavailable, hours before his contract was due to be announced by the county.