Iftikhar fills in for Chawla at Surrey

Medium/fast-pacer Iftikhar Anjum has 62 ODI caps for Pakistan, along with one Test and two Twenty20 appearances

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Surrey have signed Pakistan seamer Iftikhar Anjum as cover for India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla in their first three LV= County Championship matches of the season.

Iftikhar - who will be available to face Derbyshire at the Brit Oval, Sussex at Hove and Worcestershire at Whitgift School - will fill in for Chawla while he represents Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League.

The 29-year-old, also known as Rao Iftikhar Anjum, played in Pakistan's one-day series against Australia, taking his tally of ODI caps to 62. In addition, he has one Test and two Twenty20 international caps.

Surrey professional cricket manager Chris Adams said: “Signing someone with the experience and proven wicket-taking abilities of Rao Iftikhar will allow us to add a bit of quality to the squad and is very much in line with the signings that we have already made since the end of the 2009 season.

“Along with his impressive stats I believe Rao is the type of bowler who will perform well in English conditions and with Pakistan touring later in the year, he has a terrific opportunity to lay down a marker for selection.

“He can swing the ball well, has a very repeatable action and consistently bowls in the mid-to-high 80s (mph). We look forward to his arrival.”

Iftikhar added: “Playing for an English county has long been an ambition of mine and am I very much looking forward to joining Surrey in the coming weeks.

“Some of the greatest Pakistani bowlers of recent times have played for Surrey and I am honoured to be following in their footsteps.”