R Ashwin to return to county championship with Worcestershire

Ashwin might return as an overseas player for the latter stages for Worcestershire's County Championship campaign. Ashwin is expected to replace Travis Head as the club's overseas player for the final two Championship matches of the 2018 season, which will be played away against Essex and home against Yorkshire.

In 2017, he featured in four Championship games for the county side and had stacked up impressive numbers. He took 20 wickets at an average of 29.15 and also was handy with the bat scoring runs at an average of 42.50. Worcestershire had won all the games Ashwin featured in, which resulted in them winning the Division Two title and promotion. With the county side close to relegation, a similar cameo from the Indian off-spinner might be helpful for them.

No contract or deal has been signed yet and his return to the league depends on Indian cricket board clearance. However, looking at the recent attitude of BCCI to allow their players to participate in the foreign league, Ashwin’s return to play for Worcestershire might not be a far-fetched idea. Ishant Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Varun Aaron have appeared during the opening weeks of the county season while Virat Kohli will join Surrey in June.