Pujara to have county stint ahead of England series

County Cricket

India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara will warm-up for his country’s tour to England later this year by playing a stint with Yorkshire in the County Championship.

Pujara went unsold in the IPL auction and will therefore be available to play in England at the start of the County Championship season in April.

India have a one-off Test scheduled against Afghanistan in Bangalore from 14-18 June with the right-hander set to return to Yorkshire ahead of a five-match Test series in England that starts in August.

Pujara said: “I’m really excited to be able to have the opportunity to represent Yorkshire once again.

“It’s always nice to be able to come over here and play some County Cricket and I love the passion the people of Yorkshire have for the game.

“Each time I’ve played county cricket it has improved me as a player. That’s the plan again in 2018. I just want to score as many runs as possible for Yorkshire and soak up as much as I can from the whole experience.”

The 30-year-old Pujara has had previous stints in county cricket with Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

He has scored three centuries and three fifties in England’s domestic first-class competition.

Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon said: “It goes without saying that Cheteshwar is a highly-driven individual and very skilled batsman.

“We’re delighted to have him on board. The plan is for him to relieve some of the pressure on the top order that we struggled with at times in 2017.

“Just as he did in 2015, Pujara will relish the challenge of performing in English conditions.”

Cheteshwar Pujara County Championship Yorkshire

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