Pakistan's Imam-ul-Haq replaces Ruturaj Gaikwad at Yorkshire for County Championship
The development follows after Gaikwad backed out of the County deal that he had signed up for with the club last month. The Chennai Super Kings captain was due to appear for his debut on Tuesday, but has now opted out of the deal due to personal reasons.
'Unfortunately, Gaikwad's not coming now for personal reasons,' said Yorkshire head coach Anthony McGrath. 'We're not going to have him for Scarborough or for the rest of the season. So that's disappointing. I can't tell you anything about the reasons why, but we hope that everything's ok.'
Imam has previously represented Somerset in the County Championship in 2022. He will join the Yorkshire squad ahead of its clash with Surrey at Scarborough.
'We're delighted that Imam has joined us and that he will be available immediately,' Gavin Hamilton, Yorkshire's general manager of cricket, said on Monday. 'Whilst we were naturally disappointed that Ruturaj couldn't join up with the squad, in Imam, we have an exceptional player of proven international quality.
Earlier, Yorkshire went into panic mode after Gaikwad's last-minute decision.
'We've literally just found out. We're working behind the scenes on what we can do. But it's only two or three days away, so I'm not sure what we can do at the moment. We're working to try and get a possible replacement, but time pressure is the issue. I can't give you anything more than that at the moment,' McGrath had said on Saturday.
The Maharashtra batter had been out of action since April 8 after suffering a fractured elbow while leading Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025 season. Recovering from the injury, Gaikwad was named in the India A squad for the England tour. However, he was benched for both matches against the England Lions.
Despite his impressive white-ball aggregates, Gaikwad has not had the best of runs in First-Class cricket, averaging 41.77 for 2632 runs in 38 matches. Gaikwad had a torrid run during the India A tour to Australia last year, scoring only 20 runs in four outings.
In the 2024-25 domestic season in India, Gaikwad tallied 571 runs in 12 innings with a solitary century.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
IND vs ENG: Old Trafford and Draws – Another match ends without result amid winless streak for India
Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja after the fourth Test ended in a draw. (Pic credit: BCCI) Old Trafford has definitely earned the status as the 'draw capital' of English cricket this season. With the fourth India-England Test concluding in a stalemate on Sunday, every first-class match played at Manchester's iconic venue this season has ended in a draw — four County Championship matches featuring Lancashire, and now a high-profile Test match. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! As the final day at Old Trafford ended with handshakes and unclaimed victory spoils, murmurs grew louder over the state of the pitch. Bat continued to dominate ball, and time ultimately proved the greatest adversary. Poll Should teams reconsider their decision to bowl first at Old Trafford? Absolutely, it's a risky move. No, teams should stick to their strategies. India, trailing by 311 after England's mammoth first innings of 669, fought their way back to 425/4 in the second innings. Skipper Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar all scored centuries as the visitors ground out a morale-boosting draw. Despite being 0-2 at one point, India batted for more than five sessions without losing a wicket. Gautam Gambhir fiery press conference: Slams critics, big update on Jasprit Bumrah, Karun vs Sai However, India's winless streak at Old Trafford stretched to 10 Tests, the most they have played at any venue without a single win. The match also reinforced a remarkable statistic: no team has ever won a Test at Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first. Of the 12 such instances, nine have ended in draws, and the other three were defeats for the team bowling first. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Viet Quang: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo Despite the draw, the Test had individual milestones to celebrate. Ben Stokes etched his name into the history books by becoming only the third cricketer to amass 7,000 Test runs and take 200 wickets, joining legends Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis. His all-round performance — a blistering 141 and a five-wicket haul — was the highlight for England. Ben Stokes press conference: On handshake controversy, India fightback, his own fitness Joe Root, too, had his moment, overtaking Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history. But as Lancashire prepare to return to Old Trafford for their next County clash against Glamorgan on July 29, the question looms: can anyone win here anymore? For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
News18
4 hours ago
- News18
India Vs England 4th Test That Was Held In Manchester Ends In A Draw Cricket News
| India Vs England 4th Test that was held in Manchester ends in a drawHead coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed on Sunday (July 27) that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been ruled out of the remainder of the India-England Test series. Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batter and former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Narayan Jagadeesan has been named as a replacement. | @DhantaNews
India.com
13 hours ago
- India.com
IPL 2026: Nitish Kumar Reddy Breaks Silence On His Future With Sunrisers Hyderabad Amid Trade Rumours
India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has broken silence on his future with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the trade rumours. According to a report from India Today, Nitish had expressed his desire to leave SRH over his role in the team, especially after being pushed down the batting order. However, the 22-year-old all-rounder on Sunday took to social media to issue clarification, saying that he will always stand by his current IPL team. "I tend to stay away from the noise, but some things deserve clarity. My connection with SRH is built on trust, respect, and years of shared passion. I'll always stand by this team," wrote Reddy on his 'X' account. Ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction, Visakhapatnam-based Reddy was retained by SRH at Rs six crore. It came after Reddy amassed 303 runs in 13 matches and also took three wickets in IPL 2024, which paved his way for selection into India T20I and Test teams. But Reddy failed to repeat his heroics in IPL 2025 - scoring only 182 runs in 13 games and didn't bowl a lot of overs due to his recovery from a side strain which kept him out of action after the first T20I against England earlier this year.
