Pujara to play for Sussex in 2023 county season

Cheteshwar Pujara has extended his county stint with Sussex for a second season after the English team announced the Indian batter's signing.

Pujara had a fruitful outing with Sussex this year having scored 1094 runs in 13 County Championship innings at an average of 109.4 and 624 runs from six games in the Royal London Cup, England's 50-over tournament. The Rajkot man scored eight hundreds -- three of them double hundreds and two fifties across both formats. He also captain Sussex in two first-class games and nine 50-over games.

"I am glad to be back with Sussex for the 2023 season. I thoroughly enjoyed my last stint with the club last season, both on and off the field and I'm looking forward to contributing to the team's growth and success in the coming year," Pujara said in an official statement.

Pujara's availability for the county is not yet confirmed as India are set to play two Tests against West Indies in July and August while he might be part of the IPL 2023 if he picked up in the auction in December.

"It is fantastic news that Cheteshwar will be returning in 2023. We all saw the class he showed with the bat and his performances, but he was also outstanding in our young dressing room as a world-class role model for them to follow," Keith Greenfield, Sussex's performance director, said.

Pujara last played Tests for India in July in the postponed fifth Test against England.