Cheteshwar Pujara to stand in as Sussex captain

Tom Haines broke his hand last week while batting in the high-scoring draw with Leicestershire

India batter Cheteshwar Pujara is to fill in as Sussex's captain in the absence of Tom Haines, who broke his hand last week.

Haines was named as the county's skipper in red-ball and 50-over cricket ahead of the season, but he was struck while batting in the high-scoring draw with Leicestershire, ruling him out for a month.

Pujara's first assignment is the club's County Championship match against Middlesex at Lord's, before beginning the Royal London Cup in charge.

"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 Ian Salisbury, Sussex's head coach in both formats.

Steven Finn led Sussex following Haines' injury for the remainder of the match.

^{Tom Haines broke his hand while batting against Leicestershire (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)}

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

"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."

The Sussex captaincy has been passed around plenty in the last 12 months since Ben Brown was removed from the role during the 2021 season. Haines took over on an interim basis before being installed permanently ahead of the current summer.

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