During the IPL 2021 Auction on February 18, Cheteshwar Pujara grabbed the headlines as he found a bidder for the first time since 2014.

Pujara, who entered into the auction with a base price of 50 lakh, was roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the same amount.

After his signing, experts are saying that participation in the T20 league will hamper Pujara’s preparations for the away Test series against England but India’s No. 3 batter doesn’t think so.

According to Pujara, he will have plenty of County games to play before the Test assignment in England later this year.

"I'm really glad to be part of the IPL. It's good to be back again, and I would like to thank CSK for taking me," he said during a virtual media conference in Ahmedabad.

"Talking about county cricket, I will still have enough time before we play the England Test series," Pujara, who has earlier played for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, added.

Cheteshwar Pujara last played IPL in the 2014 season for Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab). He was continuously overlooked by franchises over the years for having the tag of a Test specialist.

Now that he has been picked, Pujara is looking forward to make a mark in the shortest format as well.

"Once IPL gets over, there will be a window where I can play a few county games. That call I will take once IPL it gets over. But there will be enough time to play some County games. We also have a couple of practice games before the Test series begins in August.

"There's plenty of time to play county cricket but it's always good to be back in IPL."

Asked whether he discussed this with CSK, Pujara said: "Nothing on that part... But I always wanted to play shorter format of the game."

"So my focus once this (ongoing) Test series gets over will be on the IPL, and then once IPL gets over then I'll think about county games and then there is a big series coming up against England in August..."

(With PTI inputs)