County cricket is considered to be the oldest form of cricket. It is similar in style to that of the IPL and other leagues. The county is played in England in a different format which is that of the 40 overs. County cricket is played in England where every team represents the 16 counties of England and one Welsh county. County cricket began in the year 1890. The first match was played between Yorkshire and Gloucestershire at Bristol. The county matches have been gaining popularity recently due to more and more international players’ joining this circuit along with English players. This is now becoming a version of an IPL-style tournament for test cricket.
1. Cheteshwar Pujara
Perhaps the most recent addition to the list the news surfaced that, after being sacked from the Indian test team, Cheteshwar Pujara was seen playing county cricket to practise. Pujara made news when, after being dropped from the Indian team, he made a century for Sussex County on his debut. Due to his form in county cricket, he earned his position back in the Indian test squad. Pujara has till now made a whopping 1094 runs in just 13 innings, with an average of 109.40.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar also played county cricket when he was just 19 years old. Sachin made headlines when he joined Yorkshire as the first overseas player to play county cricket for Yorkshire. Sachin was the first in the decade of the 1990s, which saw many Indian players join the county championship to improve their game. The most famous of Sachin's innings came against Leeds at Headingley. On August 2nd, 1992, Sachin Tendulkar scored a magnificent 107, which allowed his team to chase down the target of 265.
3. Sunil Gavaskar
The little master is one of the early Indians to play in the county championship. He was the first Indian cricketer to play in the 1980 county championship. He played for Somerset. It was the batting style of Sunil Gavaskar that made him one of the first Indian batters to compete at global standards against the greats in England. In the season in which he played for Somerset, he scored a fabulous 686 runs in just 15 first-class matches with an average of 34.29.
4. Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev, the former Indian captain and the first Indian captain to win the World Cup, also played in the County Cricket Championship. He played for Northamptonshire from 1981 to 1983, shortly after his Indian team counterpart Sunil Gavaskar started playing. He later continued his county cricket even after the victory in the 1983 World Cup. After the World Cup, he played for Worcestershire during the 1984 and 1985 seasons of the championship.
5. Anil Kumble
Perhaps the longest career for any Indian in the country would surely be that of Anil Kumble. He played for a stunning 11 years. In the county cricket championship, he played for three different teams in 32 matches between 1995 and 2006. Anil Kumble was the best spinner on the Indian side during the latter 90s and 2000s. He is also the only bowler to take 100 wickets in a season. He did it in the very first season for Northamptonshire, which claimed the third spot in the county.
6. Navdeep Saini
The young Indian pacer is also playing in the county cricket championship. He is the latest in the list of Indian cricketers to play in the county cricket championship. He is picked up by Kent to play the season. He began with an early, brilliant performance in which he took three wickets for Kent against Lancashire. He has been in top form in the county championships until now. He has been a massive boost for Kent as he is picking up fast wickets early on in the season itself; he even managed to pick up a fifer against Warwickshire.
7. Umesh Yadav
It was Umesh Yadav who was the first to begin this trend of joining the county cricket championship in the last couple of seasons. He began his first season with Middlesex, playing county cricket. He began his season in place of Shahin Shah Afridi. Currently, he has suffered some injuries during his tenure in the count championship and also due to a heavy schedule consisting of the IPL now and later the World Test Championship.
8. Arshdeep Singh
The latest Indian finding in the bowling department, Arshdeep Singh, was recently reported to play county cricket for Kent in the county season. Arshdeep Singh had a breakthrough season for the Punjab Kings. He stated that he took advice from Rahul Dravid, who advised him to improve his bowling by playing in the county championship. Arshdeep has reportedly signed to play county matches for Kent.
9. Mohammad Azharuddin
Mohammad Azharuddin, the former Indian captain who captained the Indian side in the 1990s, Azharuddin was known for his unique style. He was signed by Derbyshire in 1991. He played his first match against Northampton. He continued his play until the year 1994 for Derbyshire. After the year 1994, not only his county career but also the Indian team were left in total jeopardy as many scandals had come to light.
10. Washington Sunder
The young Indian all-rounder, Washington Sunder, plays in the county championship for Lancashire. He has just begun his career in county cricket, and this is his first season in the county championship. He has till now shown a great deal of performance for the county, even bowling a magnificent spell against Kent in his opening match in his debut match for the county championship. Now he is back for Sunrisers Hyderabad and the IPL to continue, but due to injury concerns, he has been ruled out of the IPL too, and it is sceptical that the BBCI would like to keep Sunder from playing in foreign leagues.
