Pujara excited to be back in IPL, says will take a call on county cricket later

India’s number three in Tests-- Cheteshwar Pujara has been a resilient force that has kept the Indian team going through in tough phase of games although he has gone out of favour from the Indian white-ball setup for a long time. Hence, when the Chennai Super Kings showed interest in him on the day of auction for the next edition of the Indian Premier League, it came as a huge surprise for all fans and pundits.

Pujara has expressed his happiness about becoming a part of the league once again after going unsold in previous editions, but it may well complicate his possible plans to play in the English county cricket before the World Test Championship final and the Test series against England.

According to a UK Telegraph’s report, the Warwickshire county was in discussions with Pujara for a short stint as an overseas batsman before India’s international matches in England and Pujara’s participation in the IPL might well put hose plans in jeopardy.

However, Pujara is optimistic he will have time in his hands to feature in both IPL and county championship and a call on that decision will be taken either in mid of the IPL or after its conclusion. Pujara said that his focus remains on the upcoming two Tests of the series against England at home which will pave way for India’s qualification to play in the World Championship final at Lord’s. He added that the IPL will be his priority after the ongoing Test series and the county cricket and the away series against England will come later.

"There will be enough time to play some county games. We also have a couple of practice games before the Test series. But yes, it's good to be back in the IPL. I haven't spoken to them [CSK management] yet but I always want to play the shorter formats. But for now, my focus once this series is over will be on the IPL and after that, I'll think about county cricket and the big series against England in August. Hopefully, we will play the World Test Championship final as well. I want to focus now on the next two Tests, both of them are important for us to qualify."

"First of all, I'm really glad to be part of the IPL. It's good to be back again and I'd like to thank CSK for picking me," he said after India's training session in Ahmedabad on Saturday. "At the same time, with regards to county cricket, we still have enough time before we play the England Test series. Once the IPL will be over, there is a window where I can play a few county games. That call I'll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].

Pujara was roped in by the CSK for Rs 50 lakh and if he is selected to play any match in the upcoming edition, it will be for the first time since the 2014 edition that the right-hander will be batting in the much-celebrated cricket tournament of the Indian cricket. He last featured for the then Kings XI Punjab in the 2014 edition of the league.

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PSL 6: All-round United look to put past dull last season with victory against Rizwan-led Sultans

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Excited to share dressing room with Virat Kohli: Rahul Tewatia

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Australia skipper Aaron Finch not surprised at going unsold in IPL auction

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WATCH: A glance at Motera stadium

India will take on England in the Day-Night Test slated to begin from Wednesday in the newly-built Motera stadium. Ahead of the third Test, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCC) has released a video of the stadium. The four-match series is presently levelled at 1-1. The hosts lost the first match in Chennai but bounced back in the second to thrash the English team by 317 runs riding on some fine performances from Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and debutant Axar Patel. While Rohit scored a ton in the first innings, Ashwin returned with a five-fer. Later, India took the first innings lead and then Ashwin notched up his fifth Test ton in the second innings. After handing a massive target of 482 runs, India bundled out England for 164 after Patel bagged a five-wicket haul. The cricketers too praised the stadium. “To be honest, to be in the word’s largest stadium, we actually cannot wait to have the fans around and see the atmosphere, which will be tremendous,” said flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya in a video posted by the BCCI. “All the boys loved it, I think, for us, it took almost one hour to get used to the size of the ground, the kind of facilities it has provided us, I feel really, really proud that we have this in India, where we can host so many people and we can have wonderful games here.” Speaking about the new stadium, India number three Cheteshwar Pujara said, “It’s an amazing feeling, it’s a huge, huge stadium and we all are looking forward to playing our first pink ball Test at Motera.” “It’s an amazing ground with big dressing rooms, it’s quite spacious and we are enjoying the facilities out here.”