COUNTY CRICKET

Pujara's short-term Gloucestershire deal cancelled

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on Thu, Apr 9, 2020, 04:18 PM

Cheteshwar Pujara was set to play six County games in the upcoming season © Getty

In the face of a global pandemic COVID-19, Gloucestershire have now confirmed that a short-term deal that was struck with India's Test no.3 Cheteshwar Pujara is off the table. In what would've been a massive fillip for the team set to play first-division cricket for the first time in 15 years, Pujara was to turn out for them for six County fixtures.

However, with ECB suspending all professional cricket until May 28 in a bid to flatten the curve of a wide-spreading virus, and there being travel restrictions in place, the county has officially confirmed that the fans will miss an opportunity to watch Pujara represent 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.

This understandable move comes in the midst of a crisis that has been described as the biggest challenge for the sport in its history by ECB's chief executive Tom Harrison. Harrison also estimated losses to the tune of GBP 300 million should the crisis not blow over soon and result in the wiping out of the entire county season.

Even with the likes of Yorkshire placing their staff on furlough [putting on a temporary leave of absence], Gloucestershire has stated that they find themselves in reasonably stable financial health, and should be able to hold firm even if the pandemic extends beyond May 28.

"The Club is coming off the back of an excellent financial year and is well placed to manage the challenges of this period. The ECB have been outstanding in their support of all First-Class Counties and the team there should be applauded for the speed and scale of their response to this crisis. We have now significantly reduced the number of staff and players actively working, and through a combination of local and national government initiatives have realised sizeable savings for the months of April and May.

"Even on the worst case scenario of no cricket at all this season, the Club should be able to break even this year and be ready to face the future in a strong financial position when this crisis has passed," the release stated.

Pujara is not the first overseas signing to be hit by the consequences of the Coronavirus. Surrey were forced to sever the contract they had in place for Australia's Michael Neser's just two days ago owing to the same reason.

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Pujara's short-term Gloucestershire deal cancelled

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