Cheteshwar Pujara scores 2nd century of the season for Sussex

Cheteshwar Pujara on Saturday scored his 2nd century of this County season for Sussex against Middlesex at the iconic Lord’s.

This was the batter’s 65th First-Class hundred and his 10th for Sussex and he’s just behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar who both have 81 centuries and Rahul Dravid who has 68.

The veteran batter reached his ton in 258 deliveries in an innings peppered with 12 boundaries.

Pujara had scored 113 runs a few weeks ago which helped Sussex defeat Derbyshire by 124 runs. This was also his first century of this County season.

Sussex century number 🔟 for @cheteshwar1! 😍 💯 pic.twitter.com/ctamzFD8ps

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) May 25, 2024

In February, Pujara had carved his name up among the stalwarts of Indian domestic cricket when he became the fourth batter to cross 20,000 runs in first-class cricket. The 35-year-old had achieved the landmark in 260 matches at an average of 51.96.

Meanwhile, in March, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had introduced a new ‘Test cricket incentive scheme’ for its players. The reason for this move was to reward players who prioritise red-ball cricket.

A CENTURY FOR PUJARA! 🔥💯 [321-4] #GOSBTS pic.twitter.com/X8vbPD9740

— Sussex Cricket (@SussexCCC) May 25, 2024

BCCI secretary Jay Shah informed that the benefits of the scheme will reach out to players like Pujara, who aren’t part of any IPL franchise and they will benefit from playing Test cricket.

The basic idea of this scheme is that players should be paid more for playing Test match cricket. With this, non-IPL contracted players now can earn a decent amount by playing Test cricket. Players who play less than 50% of matches in a season will be eligible for just the match fees which is Rs 15 lakh. Those who are part of the squad for more than 50% of the matches, will additionally get Rs 30 lakh (if in the playing XI) and Rs 15 lakh (non-playing XI). For players featuring in more than 75% of the squads the equivalent incentives are Rs 45 lakh and Rs 22.5 lakh respectively.

The BCCI has decided to start its scheme from the 2022-’23 season, when India played six matches. So those who featured in fewer than 3 matches, won’t be eligible for the incentives. For example, Pujara played all six Test matches in the 2022-’23 season, and he will be paid 15 lakh rupees per Test as match fees and will be paid 45 lakh rupees per game as an incentive. This means Pujara will earn Rs 3.6 crores for that particular season. Umesh Yadav, who played 4 Tests in 2022-’23 season and was part of the squad for all six Test matches, will be eligible to get the non-playing incentive of Rs 22.5 lakh for two of those matches and Rs 45 lakh for the rest four. The total comes to Rs 3.15 crore.

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