Gloucestershire are delighted to announce the signing of India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara for the first six matches of the County Championship.

Pujara is a top-order batsman who is known for batting long periods and will bring his experience to a Gloucestershire side who will be playing in Division One of the County Championship for the first time in well over a decade.

Pujara, 32, is currently seventh in the ICC Test batting rankings, sitting only two points behind Australia’s David Warner.

He has played 75 Tests and scored more than 5,700 runs.

"I am really excited to get the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire this season,” Pujara said. “The club has a rich cricketing history and this is a great opportunity to be a part of it and contribute to its success.

“I am grateful to the club for giving me this opportunity and cannot wait to get to Bristol to meet my teammates and score some runs.

“I have really enjoyed the experience of coming over to the UK and playing county cricket over the last few years and I am looking forward to building on that while continuing to improve my game."

The right-handed batsman made his Test debut for India in 2010 against Australia. In 2012 he made his first international Test century against New Zealand in Hyderabad where he scored 159, the first of 18 Test tons.

He has an impressive batting average of 49.48 in Test cricket with 206 not out being his highest score, which he made against England in his home state of Gujarat, India. He has an equally impressive first-class average of 53.99 with a highest score of 352 for Saurashtra against Karnataka.

Pujara has previously played in England for Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire in the County Championship.

Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson said: “Cheteshwar is a player with great temperament who will add international experience to the squad.

“He is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen in world cricket and we are very fortunate to have him in our squad for the start of the County Championship campaign.

“Adding Pujara to a strong batting line-up gives me great confidence ahead of our opening County Championship matches.”

Pujara is the first Indian player to play for Gloucestershire since Javagal Srinath in 1995. Srinath, who took 87 wickets in the solitary season he represented the county, famously said his time at the club shaped his view of what it means to be a professional, thanking his captain Jack Russell in particular.

Pujara will join the squad ahead of the opening County Championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley on Sunday 12th April.