Rahul Chahar joins Surrey squad for Hampshire clash at Utilita Bowl

London, Sep 22 (IANS) Indian leg-spinner Rahul Chahar has been named in Surrey’s squad for their upcoming County Championship fixture against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl.

The 26-year-old, who was registered for the final phase of the County Championship season earlier this month, did not feature in Surrey’s previous home matches at the Kia Oval against Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.

He will now be available for the season finale against Hampshire, who themselves recently signed Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar for their closing fixtures.

Chahar, who represents Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy and has played seven times for India in white-ball cricket, brings solid experience to Surrey’s depleted spin department. He has taken 87 wickets in 24 first-class matches at an average of 26.12, with best match figures of 9/148.

His T20 pedigree is well-established too. After starting his IPL journey with Rising Pune Supergiants, Chahar made his mark with the Mumbai Indians, playing a key role in their title-winning campaigns in 2019 and 2020. He later turned out for Punjab Kings before joining Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024.

On his new challenge in England, Chahar said: “I’m excited to join Surrey for this week’s match. I’m coming here to have an impact and help the team in their final match of the season.”

Surrey are currently without spin options Will Jacks and Cam Steel, both sidelined by injuries.

Director of Cricket Alec Stewart welcomed Chahar’s arrival as timely reinforcement: “Adding Rahul to the squad gives us another spin option at the Utilita Bowl. We always knew that we would be missing players for the final period of the season and try to plan accordingly given the potential surfaces and the opposition we’re playing.”

Stewart also revealed that Surrey’s initial plans had to be adjusted. “We had originally earmarked for Sai Kishore to return for the latter stages of the season but he unfortunately has a finger injury resulting in an operation has meant he was unavailable,” he said.

--IANS

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