India opener and Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal is all set to make his county debut in the ongoing County Championship in England after being overlooked for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, starting on September 9 in the UAE.
As reported by ESPNCricinfo, Mayank Agarwal has signed a short-term deal with Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the remainder of the County Championship season. The 34-year-old has joined a long list of Indian stars making waves in England this year.
Mayank Agarwal set for County debut with Yorkshire
Agarwal will join the Yorkshire squad ahead of their county clash against Somerset at Taunton on September 8, and he is expected to feature in three matches before returning to lead Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26.
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This is a golden opportunity for him to remind everyone of his value on challenging English pitches in the red-ball cricket ahead of the West Indies Tests at home.
The Karnataka captain has been enjoying a great time, having lifted the IPL trophy with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) earlier this year after replacing injured Devdutt Padikkal on the side, followed by an impressive outing in the Maharaja T20 Trophy.
Mayank Agarwal joins the growing contingent in the County Championship
Now, with over 8000 first-class runs and four Test centuries under his belt, including a marathon 243 against South Africa, Agarwal will look to script history in county cricket. Well, England isn’t new territory for him. He toured twice with the Indian cricket team and played in the WTC Final in 2023.
However, in the 2021–22 England series, Mayank was set to open but missed the chance because of a concussion. He has also toured England twice with the India A team.
Agarwal joined a growing Indian contingent in the County Championship this season, with Khaleel Ahmed (Essex), Tilak Varma (Hampshire), Yuzvendra Chahal (Northants), Ishan Kishan (Notts), and Sai Kishore (Surrey) already making headlines. Saurashtra bowler Jaydev Unadkat is set to join Sussex next month.
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Team India kicks off Asia Cup 2025 preparations in Dubai
Meanwhile, the Asia Cup defending champions are all set to begin their final stage of preparation for the Asia Cup 2025 with a long practice session on Friday (September 5) evening at the ICC Academy in Dubai. The training is scheduled from 6 to 9 pm and will be the first time the entire team comes together ahead of the continental tournament.
This time, unlike previous years, no special camp was arranged in India for the tournament. Instead, the BCCI has asked all players to directly reach Dubai and take part in extended practice sessions before their opening game against the UAE on September 10.
The reason behind the extended practice sessions is to help players get used to the UAE conditions to prepare better for the tournament.
Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya touch down in Dubai
Captain Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya are among the first to reach Dubai. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir will arrive from Mumbai on Thursday evening, while the new vice-captain, Shubman Gill, will travel from Bengaluru.
There will be no group travel for the team, as each player is flying separately and joining at different times.
However, every squad member is expected to be in Dubai by Thursday evening. From Friday onwards, preparations will officially begin with the first full-fledged practice session.
