Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s trusted No.3 in Test cricket and one of only two centrally-contracted Test players to not feature in the IPL (the other being Hanuma Vihari), has signed a six-game contract with Gloucestershire for the future county season.
Gloucestershire, who have been advanced to Division One after last summer and are anchored to perform top-division county cricket for the first time in fifteen periods, would be satisfied to have an international No. 3 on their side for a short time in a bid to increase their prospects.
Pujara will emphasize in the initial match of the tournament upon Yorkshire on April 12 and return to India before the T20 Blast kicks off in the UK. He will be replaced by Qais Ahmed as the county’s overseas player for the last six games.
Gloucestershire’s head coach, Richard Dawson, was chuffed at the concept of performing Pujara in the Gloucestershire side, especially playing their first season in Division One after being transferred back in 2005.
Gloucestershire will be the fourth English county that Pujara plays for, having previously represented Yorkshire in 2015 and 2018, Derbyshire in 2014 and Nottinghamshire in 2017.
However, for a player with a penchant for big scores, Pujara has been an alarming underachiever in county cricket with a sub-30 average in 36 innings and a shocking dry spell with Yorkshire in 2018. In his short stint with Gloucestershire, Pujara will certainly be looking to set the record straight in his county stint this time.
