Colin Ackermann to continue as Leicestershire T20 captain despite uncertainty over future

NICK HOWSON: Ackermann and Callum Parkinson remain vital players despite both stalling on new contracts, but director of cricket Claude Henderson insists neither are irreplaceable

Leicestershire are not planning to remove Colin Ackermann as T20 captain despite him stalling on signing a new contract.

Callum Parkinson was stripped of leading the red-ball team, months after being installed, after turning down an improved multi-year deal.

Ackermann is not considering offers to extend a contract which runs to the end of the upcoming campaign.

But there is no risk of him being replaced as leader in the T20 competition. Leicestershire begin their campaign on May 25 with a trip to last season's runners-up Lancashire.

"Colin will be T20 captain this year," director of cricket Claude Henderson confirmed to The Cricketer. "He has done a good job with it. With it being only eight weeks, I think it is a fantastic time for the four-day and 50-over leader (Lewis Hill) to have a break.

^{Ackermann is not considering offers to extend his contract [David Rogers/Getty Images]}

He added: "The four-day captain plays a huge role at a cricket club. If you ask any county who the club captain is, they'd say the four-day captain. That is when the most cricket is being played.

"We wanted longevity as a leader in the four-day game. We wanted the clarity. We've got someone for the next two years who is going to run the four-day team which plays a massive part like at any other county."

In 64 matches at the helm, Ackermann has won 27 and guided the Foxes to the knockout stage on just one occasion in 2020. With more than 15,000 career runs and close to 200 wickets, the 31-year-old will continue to play a major role across formats but would also be a welcome addition for many county rivals.

Both Ackermann and Parkinson are free to discuss terms with rival counties from June 1, a rapidly approaching deadline which leaves Leicestershire with little time to strike an agreement.

Financially, Leicestershire have little wiggle room and are unable to increase offers to either player. It leaves Henderson relying on diplomacy and realistic about their respective futures.

^{Lewis Hill will captain Leicestershire in red-ball and List A, replacing Callum Parkinson at the helm in the former [Alex Pantling/Getty Images]}

"We don't want to lose either of them, but we can only do so much," he admitted. "We'll keep a close eye on it - we've got some time - and we'll see how we go.

"You've only got what you've got. The offer we make players is the best we can make.

"What else can be done? I don't know if the budgets are going to change between now and June, for next season. But a lot of things can happen.

"You build a puzzle between now and June and this is for next season and beyond. It is a matter of keeping an eye on the budget. I can't see that the budget is going to change massively. It has been set.

"You don't want people who are not happy at the club. You want your players to be happy and give everything to Leicestershire.

"But no one is irreplaceable, sometimes people move on for the better for them. And sometimes that's life. I understand it. Both players are extremely important to Leicestershire."

^{Former player Darren Stevens was briefly on Leicestershire's radar [Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images]}

Budget limits eventually castled a move to re-sign Darren Stevens, who is mulling over his future after being released by Kent at the end of last season, aged 46.

Leicestershire are close to announcing a clutch of new signings ahead of the 2023 campaign and though the allrounder was discussed as a possible option it never went further.

"He is a fantastic player in what he has done, we just weren't looking in the player-coach space at this stage," Henderson said of Stevens, who represented Leicestershire between 1997 and 2004. "We have budget restrictions. It wasn't our first priority. Wherever he goes he will add value, a lot of value.

"I've got to make sure every pound we spend is what we need. We needed a batting coach; we needed a seam bowler for four-day cricket.

"Stevo was mentioned but he came up after we made most of the decisions, and the budget was gone then. I would love to have had him but we were not in that position."