Essex director

Shardul Thakur: India all-rounder Shardul Thakur has signed a seven-match County Championship deal with Essex from the beginning of the 2025 season. The 33-year-old has represented India on 83 occasions in all formats, taking a combined 129 wickets, including 31 in 11 Test appearances.

His international debut came in August 2017 in an ODI in Sri Lanka, with his maiden Test appearance following just over a year later, at home to the West Indies.

Thakur had burst onto the scene 18 months before his international bow when, aged just 24, he claimed eight wickets in the 2016 Ranji Trophy final to lead Mumbai to their 41st title in that competition.