Five Indians who have dominated English County Championship

The English County has been a perennial place of interest for Indian cricketers. From legends like Nawab of Pataudi Jr to modern greats such as Cheteshwar Pujara have all fancied a go in the county.

Playing county cricket has its own challenges. The swinging duke’s ball, the cold weather, and the overcast conditions do not make it an easy stint. However, several Indians in the history of county cricket have gone and conquered the tournament. Let’s have a look at five of the best of those.

Ravi Shastri

Shastri was always a man of courage. His never giving up spirit and ability to fight in dire circumstances helped his teams overcome many losing situations.

The tall and good-looking glamour boy of Indian cricket, Shastri, played 60 games for Glamorgan between 1987-91. He scored 3296 runs in those games at an average of 41.72. He managed to score six impactful hundreds during his stay at Glamorgan. Shastri also managed to take 90 wickets at an average of 35 with his left-arm orthodox bowling in the county.

Shastri’s county experience went on to help him in India’s England tours. Shastri scored 500+ runs in just 9 test matches he played in England, including the highest score of 187.

Mohammad Azharuddin

If you have seen Azharuddin bat at his peak, you can never forget him. The former Indian captain was one of the most stylish and elegant batsmen of all time. And he showed all of his class playing for Derbyshire between 1991-94.

Azharuddin amassed 2485 runs in just 29 games, with an incredible batting average of 51.77. He has the highest batting average among all the Indians who have played in the county. He also holds the record of the highest number of centuries with his eight magnificent hundreds for Derbyshire. 

It was no surprise that Azhar fancied playing against the Englishmen. He made his debut against England and scored three back to back hundreds, a feat that has never been matched.

Kapil Dev

Before winning the World Cup for India in England, Kapil had already started playing county there from 1981. Not only did he play the county, he totally dominated it there with both bat and ball.

The Indian all-rounder played a total of 40 games for Northamptonshire and Worcestershire. With the bat, he scored 2312 runs at a fantastic average of 42.81. Apart from that, the Haryana Hurricane also took full advantage of the swinging conditions of England and grabbed 103 wickets at an average of 26. It is safe to say that his experience in the county certainly helped India clinch the World Cup in 1983. 

Bishan Singh Bedi

The slow left-arm orthodox from Amritsar, Bishan Singh Bedi played 102 games in the English county, second-most only after Farokh Engineer. He bowled 3595 overs, taking 394 wickets at a ridiculous bowling average of 21.16.

Bedi was a purist’s dream. Hitting the same ideal line and length ball alongside flighting the red cherry up, which helped him beat the batters with dip. Bedi managed to create an incredible impact in a country that does not have the greatest assistance for spin. Bedi eventually finished with 1560 first-class wickets, most for any Indian bowler.

Murali Karthik

Following Bedi’s footsteps, Karthik also dazzled the county with his accurate left-arm spin and astute brain. Throughout his career, Karthik got little opportunity to play Tests for India due to the presence of the stalwart spinners - Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. 

Karthik took it as an opportunity to play in the county. In a County career that lasted seven years, from 2005 to 2012, Karthik played for four different counties, including Middlesex, Lancashire, Somerset, and Surrey. He played 60 matches in total, taking 220 wickets with a brilliant average of 24.72. 

His stint with Middlesex in 2007, where he took 12 wickets at an average of just 20, helped him get back into contention for the Indian national side.