Cheteshwar Pujara says county cricket can take a backseat as he returns to IPL after 2014

Team India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara has said that the Indian Premier League (IPL) deal will not act as a hindrance towards him playing county cricket this year.

Pujara was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for INR 50 lakhs in mini-auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Gujarat cricketer has said that first, he will be focussing on IPL 2021 while his county stint can take a backseat as of now.

'Enough time': Cheteshwar Pujara

"First of all, I am really glad to be a part of the IPL, it is good to be back again. I would like to thank the CSK team for picking me, but at the same time, when I am talking about county cricket, I still think I will have enough time before we play England in England. Once IPL gets over, there will be a window for me to play county games. That call I will take once IPL gets over. There will be enough time to play some county games. We also have a couple of practice games in England once the Test series begins there," said Pujara during a virtual press conference on Saturday.

"There is plenty of time to play county cricket but it is good to be back in the IPL. You know, I always want to play the short format of the game, IPL has produced so many great cricketers, some young talent we have got through the IPL, it has helped the Indian team. My focus once this Test series gets over will be on the IPL and once IPL gets over, I will think about county games and then there is a big series coming up against England. I am very hopeful that we will play the World Test Championship final as well which is in June,", the number three Test batsman added.

READ: Delhi Capitals Skipper Shreyas Iyer Gears Up For A 'challenging' IPL 2021

Cheteshwar Pujara's IPL stint

The Rajkot batsman has so far featured in the five seasons of the marquee tournament from 2010-2014. He had represented the two-time winners Kolkata Knight Riders from 2008 to 2010 before being roped in by the three-time runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore (2011-2013). In the following season, Pujara was bought by Kings XI Punjab.

READ: Vaughan Reignites Chepauk Pitch Row, Takes Jibe At India By Sharing Pakistan Stadium Image

The 33-year-old could only manage to score 125 runs in the six matches that he got to feature in for the franchise with his highest score being 40 at an average of 25 and a strike rate of 100.80. KXIP finished as the finalists after losing to Kolkata Knight Riders in a last-over thriller. 

Pujara's underwhelming performance in the 2014 edition meant that the Mohali-based franchise had no second thoughts when it came to releasing him.  He was never picked by any team in future IPL Auctions until the 2021 season and now, the red-ball specialist is all set to represent his fourth team in the cash-rich event after a wait of seven long years. 

READ: Cheteshwar Pujara Says Chepauk Wicket For 2nd Test VS England Was Not A 'dangerous' One

(With ANI Inputs)