Pujara poised for summer tune-up at Warwickshire

Batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is being lined up for a return to county cricket, before India’s Test tour of England this summer, with Warwickshire his likely destination.

Pujara, who has 18 Test centuries and averages 47.2 from his 83 Tests, is keen to play county cricket before India’s Test commitments in England next summer, which could encompass the World Test Championship final as well as the five-test series.

If Pujara were to sign with Warwickshire, he would add experience to a batting order that has lost Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell since 2018.

Known as one of the world’s most technically correct batsmen, Pujara is ranked the seventh-best Test batsman in the world.

Pujara has entered the Indian Premer League auction, which takes place today, and if he were to be picked up it would complicate any county contract. But he has not played an IPL game since 2014 and it is likely that he will go unselected.

The English domestic schedule means that Pujara would be likely to be able to play around six County Championship games before joining up with the Indian squad. He has previously played for Derbyshire,

Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, although his record in the county game – 988 runs at 29.9 apiece – is significantly less impressive than his Test performances.

Should Pujara’s deal be confirmed, it would reopen a longstanding debate over whether counties help England by giving overseas players game time in English conditions directly before a home Test series.

In 2019, Australian Marnus Labuschagne played 10 first-class games for Glamorgan before the Ashes and he has said that the experience he gained was crucial in his success in that series.

It is likely that all the rest of India’s Test squad will feature in the IPL, so Pujara could be the only Indian to enjoy an early-season stint in the county game.