Cheteshwar Pujara signs new county deal, all set to play for his 4th county side

Indian Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has signed a deal with county side Gloucestershire this season and will play six matches for them.

Gloucestershire have been promoted to Division One for the first time since 2005, and will be Pujara's fourth county. He has earlier played for Derbyshire (2014), Yorkshire (2015 and 2018) and Nottinghamshire (2017).

Pujara did not bag an IPL contract and is one of only two Test specialists in the contracted list of 27 Indian players who will not make an appearance in the IPL.

"I am really excited to get the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire this season," Pujara said. "The club has a rich cricketing history, and this is a great opportunity to be a part of it and contribute to its success."

"I am grateful to the club for giving me this opportunity and cannot wait to get to Bristol to meet my teammates and score some runs. I have really enjoyed the experience of coming over to the UK and playing county cricket over the last few years and I am looking forward to building on that whilst continuing to improve my game," he added.

Welcome to Bristol @cheteshwar1 👊🇮🇳Gloucestershire Cricket is delighted to announce the signing of @BCCI batsman Cheteshwar Pujara for the first six matches of the County Championship!!Read here ⤵️⤵️#GoGlos💛🖤

— Gloucestershire Cricket🏏 (@Gloscricket) February 19, 2020

As far as Pujara's record in the County Championship is concerned, it is not entirely flattering - he has an average of 29.93 across 36 innings in the competition. During his stint with Yorkshire, he went through six games without notching up a single half-century.

However, the right-hander has been getting better with each passing year on the international stage, and that increased confidence could well translate to the county circuit too.

Richard Dawson, Gloucestershire head coach, expressed his happiness about the signing too:

"Cheteshwar is a player with great temperament who will add international experience to the squad. He is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen in world cricket and we are very fortunate to have him in our squad for the start of the County Championship campaign."