Leicestershire sign Abi Sakande on deal until end of season

The fast bowler, 26, left Sussex at the end of the 2019 season after declining the offer of a contract extension

Leicestershire have signed former Sussex seamer Abi Sakande on a deal until the end of the season.

The fast bowler, 26, left Sussex at the end of the 2019 season after declining the offer of a contract extension.

He has turned out for Leicestershire’s second team since the start of the 2021 campaign, taking regular wickets for the county.

Sakande last played professional cricket in two years ago, taking the wicket of Glenn Maxwell in his last appearance – a heavy defeat for Sussex against Lancashire.

Overall, he has taken 40 wickets in 18 first-class outings since making his debut in 2014.

He said: “I am very excited, and I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have been given, and the faith that has been shown in me by Nico [Paul Nixon]. Hopefully I can convert any opportunities I get into performances.

“I am now focusing on keeping myself in the frame as much as I can and if there are any opportunities that come around in the first team, to make sure that I am ready to take those when they come.”

“We’re delighted to have signed Abi to a contract here in Leicestershire,” added Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon.

“He has spent a couple of years out of the game recently, but he has come into to our second XI set up and performed brilliantly. He is a good guy and a good cricketer to have around the group, and it’ll be a good chance for him to get involved in professional cricket once again.”