Kyle Abbott: Hampshire new-boy Ajinkya Rahane reminds me of Sachin Tendulkar

The top-order batsman will spend almost three months at the Ageas Bowl, and will be available for eight Specsavers County Championship matches from the middle of May until early July.

The 30-year-old, who will replace World Cup-bound Aiden Markram, will become the first Indian to play for Hampshire.

The right-hander is India’s vice-captain and has a wealth of international experience, having made 56 Test and 90 ODI appearances – making over 3,400 runs at an average of 40.55 in his Test career so far.

And all-rounder Abbott has given his thumbs up to the addition, likening him to Test cricket’s greatest runscorer Tendulkar.

‘He is a fantastic player, I’ve played against him a few times and I’ve watched him a lot,’ said Abbott.

‘He reminds me of Sachin Tendulkar because he’s small in stature and the way he plays.

‘He has a great record and when I’ve come across him a great guy.

‘We are looking forward to having him here and hopefully he can get some big runs.’

South African Abbott is well aware of Rahane’s skills having played against him in a Test match in 2015.

His new team-mate scored a century in both innings during the fixture in Dehli as India claimed a 337-run victory.

 ‘I bowled to him quite a bit in Dehli, it was probably the longest Test match of my life!,’ Abbott joked.

‘We went in with two seamers, myself and Morne Morkel and it was tough.’

- ALEX SMITH