Cheteshwar Pujara named as Sussex's interim captain in the County Cricket Championship

After regular skipper Tom Haines was declared out for more than a month, India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has been chosen interim captain of Sussex on Tuesday. Pujara has been one of the County's most consistent performers in this season of the County Cricket Championship.

This season, the veteran cricketer has amassed over 750 runs in six games for Sussex in the County Championship Division 2 with the highest score of 203. Haines will be out for 5-6 weeks, according to a statement from Sussex.

"Cheteshwar Pujara has been named interim captain for Sussex following the news that Tom Haines will be out for around 5-6 weeks after breaking a bone in his hand whilst batting against Leicestershire last week," the statement read.

Pujara received high praises from Sussex head coach Ian Salisbury. He revealed that the 34-year-old is excited to take on the responsibility of captaincy. "Puj 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," said Salisbury.

"Finny did a brilliant job for us after Tom was injured and will remain the senior figure among our bowlers. 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," he added.

Cheteshwar Pujara's captaincy stints

Pujara has previous captaincy experience, having led Saurashtra, Rest of India, and the West Zone in first-class cricket in India. He has also captained West Zone and Saurashtra in 50-over cricket, as well as in T20 cricket. Pujara has also captained India's A and B limited overs teams.

Pujara recently played in India's rescheduled fifth Test match against England at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham, which the visitors lost. In the game, he had scores of 13 and 66 runs, respectively. The five-match Test series ended in a draw with a scoreline of 2-2.