Out-of-favour India star will play for Durham. Photo: AP Ignored from the Duleep Trophy, Mayank Agarwal is set to make his return to first-class cricket after signing a four-match stint with the Durham Cricket Club. The right-handed batter will be playing along with Ben Stokes. "We are delighted to have Mayank joining us for our County Championship run in. “With David Bedingham returning to South Africa ahead of their international red ball summer it was important we acted by recruiting a high-class international cricketer for the remainder of the season," Ryan Campbell, Durham's head coach, said. “Mayank is a hugely talented batter who has a superb first-class record, we look forward to him contributing to Durham as we look to secure our return to Division One of the County Championship," he added. Mayank has been out of national contention since 2022. He played his last Test against Sri Lanka in 2022. The right-handed batter made his debut against Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Mayank Agarwal captained Punjab Kings in IPL. Photo: BCCI Mayank scored 1488 runs in 21 Tests at an average of 41.33 before getting dropped. He hit four centuries and six half-centuries. Mayank has a highest score of 243 in Tests. The out-of-favour India opener also played five ODIs, in which he scored 86 runs. Mayank never played a T20I for India. He has scored 8929 runs in 124 first-class matches and 6036 runs in 132 List A matches. Mayank, an IPL winner with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has 5147 runs in 222 T20s. He captained Punjab Kings in IPL. He went unsold in the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Mayank will be Stokes' teammate at Durham. The former England captain has been playing county cricket since his retirement from international cricket. Stokes announced a shocking retirement from international cricket during the Test series against New Zealand. The England legend announced his retirement in the aftermath of the nightclub incident following the first Test against NZ. Stokes could now make his IPL return from 2027 or 2028. Rishav Narang is an experienced writer with nine years of experience in sports journalism. He extensively writes on cricket and covers live matches, b... View More