SPORTS: Rizwan of Pakistan and Pujara of India became part of the same team

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and India Chattiswar Pujara are representing Sussex in the English County Championship and it ...

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and India Chattiswar Pujara are representing Sussex in the English County Championship and it is a unique opportunity for players from both the countries to represent the same team.

 

Mohammad Rizwan and Chattiswar Pujara representing Sussex at the English County Championships - Photo courtesy of ICC

According to the AFP news agency, India had severed cricket ties with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, where India had blamed the attacks on terrorists on Pakistani soil and now both teams Competitors only appear in ICC competitions.

 

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No bilateral series has been played between the two countries since 2007 and the last short series was played in India in 2012-13.

However, relations between the two countries have further strained since the Hindu nationalist government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

Pakistani players do not play in the world's most attractive and largest T20 league, the Indian Premier League, which is currently being played in India.

However, now the middle order batsmen of Pakistan and India have got a chance to play together in the England County Championship.

Rizwan of Pakistan and Chattiswar of India are representing Sussex in the four-day Division Two matches of Pujara County and have been in action for the ongoing match against Derbyshire since Thursday.

Sussex had hired Travis Head, but last month Head apologized for Derbyshire's representation due to international responsibilities and Derbyshire replaced him with Pujara.

The 34-year-old Indian batsman has scored 6,713 runs in 95 Test matches at an average of 44.

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Mohammad Rizwan, 29, has averaged 43 runs in Test cricket and is playing well in T20 and ODIs.

Sussex head coach Ian Salisbury said: "I am thrilled to have quality players like Rizwan and Pujara as part of my team.

"Both of them will not only be world class players but will also improve our performance on the pitch and things will be positive with their presence in the dressing room and around the players," he said.