Cheteshwar Pujara's short-term Gloucestershire deal comes to premature end

04/09/2020

In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Gloucestershire county club have now confirmed that their short-term deal with Cheteshwar Pujara has been cancelled. The county were all set to play first-division cricket for the first time in 15 years, with them also having signed Pujara for six fixtures.

After the coronavirus pandemic took over the cricketing scene, boards around the globe had to make necessary changes to their schedules. Last month, the ECB suspended all professional cricket until May 28 to fight the wide-spreading virus due to the health risks. ECB's chief executive Tom Harrison estimated the losses going up to GBP 300 million with the health crisis possibly wiping out of the entire county season.

With travel restrictions in place, the Gloucestershire county officially confirmed that Indian Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara, who was signed by the county for a short-term deal, won’t be representing them.

"As you will be aware, currently there is no cricket scheduled to be played until the end of May 2020. As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the world we have to be realistic that this period without cricket may well be extended further into the summer. We spent much of the winter preparing for the season in this, our 150th anniversary year, and we know it is a deep disappointment to all staff, players and everyone involved with the Club that the season has been delayed. We will also now miss the opportunity to see Chetshwar Pujara play for the mighty Glos in the 2020 season which we know our supporters were really looking forward to," an official release from the club stated.

Before Gloucestershire cancelled Pujara’s deal, Surrey CC were forced to cancel their contract with Australia's Michael Neser on Tuesday, April 7.