Gilchrist played 96 Tests and 287 one-day internationals for Australia

Middlesex have signed former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist to spearhead their 2010 Twenty20 campaign.

The 38-year-old retired from international cricket in 2008, but captained the Deccan Chargers to the Indian Premier League title in 2009.

He will play in Middlesex's group matches in next season's revamped Twenty20 Cup competition.

Middlesex are also hopeful of signing India batsman Sachin Tendulkar to play alongside Gilchrist in the tournament.

The capture of 36-year-old Tendulkar, who holds the world record for Test runs, could rest on him getting approval from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

606: DEBATE Middlesex have signed one of the legends of modern cricket knowledge_is_good

An aggressive opening batsman in limited-overs cricket, Gilchrist scored 9,619 runs in 287 one-day internationals and picked up World Cup winners' medals in 1999, 2003 and 2007 - when he scored 149 in the final.

He is also leading run scorer in the IPL and holds the record for the competition's fastest century, coming off 42 balls.

Middlesex chief executive Vinny Codrington said: "Adam has signed for the group matches of next season's Twenty20 but has other commitments and is unable to commit beyond that at this stage.

"We have been in discussions with Sachin and his agent for a while but he has been concentrating on the one-day series against Australia and the current Test match against Sri Lanka.

"He has been pretty tied up so we are waiting to hear from him and hope for some news soon."

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