Club Announce 2025 Academy and EPP Intake

Leicestershire CCC is delighted to announce the list of players selected for the boys’ Academy squad and Emerging Players’ Programme (EPP) for the 2025 season.

10 players will be working within the Club’s pathway setup across both groups, with four Academy scholars and six EPP selections forming this year’s contingent.

The Foxes’ budding best will be bidding to follow in the footsteps of Alex Green, Sam Wood, Josh Hull, and Rehan Ahmed, who have all graduated from the Club’s esteemed Academy system in recent seasons.

This year's operation will once again be led by Head of Talent Pathway; Jigar Naik, with support from coaches Phillip DeFreitas, Paul Johnson and Dipesh Patel.

2025 Academy Scholars:

Ali Farooq: An 18-year-old left-arm spinner, Ali starred across the 2025 season, finishing the year as Leicestershire’s leading wicket-taker with 42 wickets. Match figures of 9/94 spun the Foxes to victory over Derbyshire in the U18 County Championship, which were backed up by 6/77 in the second innings of the Second XI’s win over Glamorgan a week later.

Raiffe Headley: Leicestershire’s leading wicket-taker en route to the final of the Vitality Under-18 County T20 competition last year, the opening bowler possesses the ability to swing the ball late and at impressive pace. Raiffe ended the 2024 campaign with 41 wickets at an average of 19.20.

Usman Minhas: A prolific run-scorer, Usman scored 90 on debut for the Second XI against a strong Northamptonshire attack at Kibworth last summer. The 18-year-old left-hander caught the eye on the Academy’s pre-season trip to Dubai this February, scoring two centuries and averaging 72 across his six innings for the side.

Ronak Rajashekar: A precocious 17-year-old batter, Ronak finished the 2024 summer as the Academy’s second-highest run-scorer with 810 runs. He’s made a solid start to the 2025 campaign, scoring two fifties on tour in Dubai and two more in the Academy’s opening two matches of the year.

The EPP consists of six players for the 2025 season, with Darius Fanibanda, Josh Fitzpatrick, Theo Marshall, Arnav Rai, Devarsh Shah, and Keshav Sthanakiya all awarded spots on this year’s programme.

Discussing this year’s selections, Head of Talent Pathway, Jigar Naik, said: “We’ve assembled an exciting group of young talent with great potential. We’re looking forward to seeing the lads showcase their skills and further their development across the season ahead.

“The role models are there to be seen at Leicestershire. We’ve had a rich history of academy boys rising through the ranks to play first-class cricket and go on to play for England, and if they do the right things, there’s no reason why these boys can’t follow that path.

"Some of the group are already playing Second XI cricket, which is testament to their ability. That will be a great platform for the boys to continue their growth at a high standard and gain lessons which they can take back into Academy cricket.”

Leicestershire kick off their 2025 competitive campaign against Derbyshire in the Under-18s County T20 Cup on Tuesday 27 May.