Melbourne, Aug 4 (IANS): Veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon has signed a three-year deal with the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League (BBL), ending his decade-long stay at Sydney Sixers.

At the Renegades, Lyon will be teaming up with Australia’s regular white-ball leg-spinner Adam Zampa. Lyon was a part of the 2019-20 title-winning Sixers side, and his new deal with the Renegades will keep him at the club till the end of the 2025-26 edition of the competition.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be part of the Melbourne Renegades. (Marvel Stadium is) a place where I enjoy bowling, it tends to spin a little bit. I'm looking forward to hopefully joining up with 'Zamps' in a really good partnership and putting a show on for the Renegades fans."

"I've got some really good friends who are part of the Melbourne Renegades, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to come down. There's a good group of senior players there who I've played a lot of cricket with internationally and also domestically, then you look at the younger guys throughout the roster - it's a pretty powerful squad in my eyes.

"I think we need to set the benchmark high, shoot for the finals and make sure we go and try to lift the trophy," said Lyon in a statement shared by the club on Friday.

Lyon has played only 38 BBL matches and taken 44 wickets at an average of 21.50 and an economy rate of 7.18. He has not played much in the league due to his international duties overlapping with the competition’s games. Adelaide Strikers was Lyon’s first club in the BBL, before moving to Syndey and now Melbourne.

"It's fantastic to have a player and person of Nathan's calibre joining the Melbourne Renegades. Nathan's success over a sustained period at the highest level of the game speaks for itself, and he will be an incredible asset to our group with his skills and experience."

"Being able to add two world-class spinners in Nathan and Adam to our squad for the next couple of years is a significant step in that process, one which we're confident will help to set us up for success over the coming seasons," said James Rosengarten, Melbourne Renegades General Manager.

The Renegades will begin their BBL season 13 campaign on December 8 against the Sydney Sixers at the SCG, before hosting the Perth Scorchers in their first home match at Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium on December 10.

Renegades squad (so far): Nic Maddinson (c), Aaron Finch, Mackenzie Harvey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Jon Wells, Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa