Lancashire to release batters Harry Singh and Kesh Fonseka after worst season in club's Championship history
Red Rose confirm end-of-contract departures
Lancashire will release batters Harry Singh and Kesh Fonseka when their contracts expire at the end of this month, the county has confirmed, closing the book on a difficult 2026 season for the Red Rose.
The news comes with Lancashire having endured a chastening campaign. They finished seventh in Division Two in 2026 — the lowest finish in their history in the County Championship — and have just appointed Paul Farbrace as the club's new director of cricket.
Singh leaves after 34 games and a lone half-century
Singh, 22, played 34 games across the three formats for the Red Rose but managed only one half-century in that time. The bulk of his opportunities came in red-ball cricket, where he played eight times in the County Championship this summer and scored just 133 runs in 14 innings — an average of 9.50 in Championship cricket in 2026.
Those numbers underline the batting struggles that have defined Lancashire's season, with the club's inability to post competitive totals a recurring theme throughout the campaign.
Fonseka's chances limited to second XI
Fonseka, 20, has largely played second XI cricket for Lancashire. He has featured in four One-Day Cup games for the club, although none of those came this season.
His release means two young homegrown batters will be seeking new opportunities, with the county opting to look elsewhere as it reshapes its squad.
A season of collapse at Old Trafford
The departures must be viewed against the backdrop of Lancashire's worst Championship campaign on record. As reported on 27 September 2026, the county's slide towards the bottom of Division Two represented their worst finish in a 136-year history.
That report detailed how injuries to opener Luke Wells and new quick bowler Ajeet Singh Dale proved season-ending from mid-April, after which Lancashire lost eight of their next 10 Championship matches, the other two being rain-affected draws.
The batting was the primary source of the problem. Marcus Harris finished as Lancashire's leading run scorer with 665 runs at an average of 33.25, while the team managed just one batting bonus point from their past nine matches — a total of 281-8 declared against Worcestershire in May.
Farbrace takes the reins
With the 2026 season at an end, attention now turns to the rebuild under Farbrace, whose appointment as director of cricket gives Lancashire a fresh figure to oversee recruitment and strategy.
The release of Singh and Fonseka is an early indication that the county is prepared to make changes as it seeks to avoid a repeat of a campaign that delivered a historic low.