Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara will have to wait to make his debut for Sussex county until next week, as he is facing visa problems which have delayed his travel to the UK to take part in the upcoming County Championship 2022, starting on Thursday, April 7.
The Sussex club has been in regular contact with Pujara and has been working tirelessly to enable him to be available for the first game of the County Championship in 2022 against Nottinghamshire.
However, due to delays in issuing of his visa, he will not be available for selection until next week.
Speaking on Pujara’s arrival delay issue, Sussex Performance Director, Keith Greenfield stated: “Securing overseas players has been tremendously difficult in the current climate. We renegotiated the initial Pujara contract so he could return for more County Championship and Royal London 50 over matches, and this subsequently changed the visa requirements.”
Greenfield added, “On top of this, the Ukraine crisis has meant that the Home Office has redirected their resources to help with the displacement of Ukrainian citizens. We were expecting Pujara to be with us last weekend but can now confirm he will be here at the back end of this week.”
Meanwhile, Sussex head Coach, Ian Salisbury, said: “Of course, I am extremely disappointed that we will not have a player of Pujara’s experience and quality to be available for the opening day of the season, but we must move on and now focus on the game ahead of us.”
Notably, Pujara will still be available for five rounds of the County Championship in 2022, out of the first six fixtures as agreed. His stint will start with a game against Derbyshire next week.
The Indian batter will also return later in the season for the Royal London Cup and some additional four-day games.
Sussex will kick off its County Championship 2022 campaign against Nottinghamshire on Thursday, April 7 at the 1st Central County Ground.
(With AFP Inputs)
