Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara was named stand-in captain of the Sussex team by the Sussex County Cricket Club on Tuesday (July 19) after the regular captain, Tom Haines, was ruled out of action for about six weeks due to an injury.
Haines was sidelined after breaking a bone in his hand while batting against Leicestershire last week.
Following Pujara's outstanding performance with the bat, the Indian batter has been named interim captain of Sussex in the ongoing County Championship 2022.
Notably, Pujara scored more than 750 runs in the six matches in the County Championship Division 2. Sussex will next take on Middlesex on Tuesday, and Pujara will be their captain.
Sussex’s Head Coach Ian Salisbury said in an official statement: “Pujara was very keen to step up in the absence of Tom, he sees the potential in this side and has been a natural leader ever since he joined. Finny (Steven Finn) did a brilliant job for us after Tom was injured and will remain the senior figure among our bowlers.”
He added, “By having a batter take up the role it means Finn can focus on leading our attack. Puj is a vastly experienced and quality person who I know will do a fantastic job.”
