Pujara, Rizwan make Sussex debut in County Championship

Cheteshwar Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan were included in Sussex’s playing XI for its contest against Derbyshire.

Cheteshwar Pujara has in the past played for Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire as a professional.

India batter Cheteshwar Pujara and Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan on Thursday made their debut for Sussex in the second division of the County Championship here on Thursday, against Derbyshire.

While Pujara has played first-class cricket in England in the past, Rizwan is playing his first first-class match in England.

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Both were named in the Sussex playing eleven. The team is captained by Tom Daines. With Derbyshire opting to bat, Pujara and Rizwan are expected to bat on day two. Pujara will be hoping to make some runs to be back in the reckoning for a spot in India’s Test team. Rizwan, on the other hand, has been among the runs in all formats for Pakistan in the last two years and will hope to continue to excel.

“I am extremely excited to be able to bring in players of Rizwan and Pujara’s quality into the side. Not only are they absolute world-class cricketers that will boost our performances on the pitch, but to have them around the boys and in the dressing room can only be a positive,” head coach Ian Salisbury in a team statement.

Sussex lost the previous contest to Nottinghamshire by 10 wickets.