Cheteshwar Pujara to play county cricket, re-signs for Yorkshire
Left unsold in the IPL auction, India's top-order Test batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara is all set to warm up for India's Test series against England by playing County cricket. Pujara has been re-signed by Yorkshire for his second stint with the club and will play in a squad that includes England skipper Joe Root, and Kiwi captain Kane Williamson. Here's more!
Indian cricketers who played county cricket
County cricket is England's first-class domestic cricket competition, which has been played since 18th century. Over the years, many Indians have played County cricket. Dating back to as far as Tiger Pataudi in 60s, Farokh Engineer in 70s, the list includes the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Azharuddin, the 'Golden Era' players - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble.
Fewer Indians are part of County cricket in recent years
In recent years, Indian team's busy schedule coupled with the advent of IPL means that fewer Indians have ventured to play outside the country. Off late, a couple of them, especially the Test specialists who go unpicked by IPL teams, found an opportunity to play County cricket. For instance, Cheteshwar Pujara played county cricket for Yorkshire in their championship-winning year in 2015.
Ashwin's time with Worcestershire
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was rested for the ODI series against Australia in September 2017, made use of the time by playing county cricket with Worcestershire.
Pujara may stay on after India's series against England
Cheteshwar Pujara, as stated by Yorkshire club, could potentially stay on after India's Test series against England, which will end on 11th September 2018. The 29-year-old, who scored a record-breaking 12th double ton towards the end of last year, averages 56.68 in first-class cricket. He scored 816 runs playing in the County championship which includes three 50s and three 100s.
