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India's test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara and Pakistan's star batter Mohammad Rizwan on Thursday made their Sussex debut for the game against hosts Derbyshire in the County Championships Division 2.
While Pujara has played first-class cricket in England in the past, it is the first outing for Pakistan wicketkeeper batter.
Both were named in the Sussex playing eleven which is captained by Tom Daines. With Derbyshire opting to bat, Pujara and Rizwan are expected to bat on day two.
Both the players stand at the opposite end of their international careers. While Pujara will be aiming to score a bagful of runs to make a Test comeback after being dropped following the tour of South Africa, Rizwan has been one of the best wicket-keeper batters in international cricket over the last couple of years.
“All set to start my stint with @sussexccc tomorrow. Can’t wait to get on the field,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on Twitter.
With Sussex having lost their opening game, head coach Ian Salisbury included both overseas stars for the contest against Derbyshire.
"I am extremely excited to be able to bring in players of Rizwan and Pujara's quality into the side. Not only are they absolute world-class cricketers that will boost our performances on the pitch, but to have them around the boys and in the dressing room can only be a positive," said the head coach in a team statement.
Pujara is not part the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as there were not bidders for him. He was a part of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the 2021 season. But the Chennai-based franchise decided not to include him in the Playing 11.
Snubbed from IPL, Pujara was signed up for Sussex, in order to try and fix issues in batting. This stint would help him bat well in England later this year if he gets selected for the national team. The fifth Test match between England and India, which was earlier called off due to a Covid outbreak in the Indian camp, will now be played in July 2022. The Test match was scheduled to be played in Manchester earlier this year but the ECB has confirmed that the final match of the five-match series will now be played at Edgbaston. The Test match will be a part of India's white ball tour to the UK next year.
