Cheteshwar Pujara, an India Test specialist, will not be returning to Sussex for the County Championship next year after the English club side decided to relieve him in order to keep Australian Daniel Hughes on staff.
Next season, Hughes, who bats left, will be available for every Championship and T20 Vitality Blast game. Jayden Sales, a right-arm fast bowler from the West Indies, will compete in the first block of Championship matches, the club also confirmed.
In 2024 Pujara returned to Sussex for the third time in a row. Prior to Hughes’s arrival, he participated in the first seven Championship matches.
“Taking over from Cheteshwar is not an easy task, but Dan has fitted in brilliantly and we are all delighted he will be back for the whole of next season,” Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace said in a statement on its official website.
During this year’s Blast, Hughes was the top run scorer in the group stages with 560 runs at an average of 43.07, which included five fifty-scores and a career-high 96 not out.
On September 4, the Australian helped Sussex beat Lancashire Lightning at home to advance to the quarterfinals.
Additionally, he will play in Sussex’s last five Championship games of the current campaign.
“Dan has been top class for us on and off the field. He has brought a wealth of experience to the dressing room and has seriously helped some of our young batters with the development of their games,” Fabrace said.
