Leicestershire Foxes have further strengthened their batting line-up for this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast by signing South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw .
The big-hitting 26-year-old will arrive at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road, for the final six group matches as cover for Umar Akmal, who is due to appear in the Caribbean Premier League.
Rossouw, who is currently part of the Proteas squad in India preparing for the ICC World Twenty20, is set to make his debut against Derbyshire Falcons on July 8.
As well as a T20 International average of 34.55 and a formidable strike rate of 145.32, Rossouw has also scored two one-day international centuries and played alongside Leicestershire’s director of cricket Andrew McDonald for Royal Challengers Bangalore during the 2012 Indian Premier League.
BREAKING | Foxes sign big-hitting batsman @Rileerr for 6 @NatWestT20Blast matches in 2016:https://t.co/8Kr7rZarhf pic.twitter.com/AAAvcBGhpo
— Leicestershire CCC (@leicsccc) March 14, 2016
McDonald said: “Rilee is a player that I know very well and he’ll be a fantastic addition to our squad both in terms of talent and temperament.
“He is a powerful batsman and having another left-hander in our batting line-up will prove to be useful.
“Umar made a massive impact for us while providing cover for Grant Elliott in 2015 and it’s great that we’ll now have cover for Umar when he goes to play in the Caribbean Premier League in July.
“Rilee is an ideal player to bring in and it’s great that we’ll have two overseas players available throughout the tournament.”
Source: ECB