Derbyshire keen on Pujara return

Derbyshire have opened talks with Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara over a return to the county for the 2015 season. Pujara enjoyed a short but successful stint at the end of last season and Derbyshire are keen to see him again next year.

Pujara made just 7 and 0 in his first match at Glamorgan but then made 212 runs in four innings as Derbyshire won their final two matches, including an unbeaten century against Leicestershire and 90 not out which guided his side to victory at The Oval.

Pujara indicated his willingness to return to Derby next season and Derbyshire elite performance director Graeme Welch confirmed the club has subsequently been in contact over a deal for 2015.

"We've spoken to Pujara already and he seemed quite keen to come back," Welch said. "He integrated into the team brilliantly and I think he enjoyed the lads here. He wants to test himself in English conditions, so this is probably the best place for him."

A stumbling block to a new deal could be the IPL, which is likely to take place in April and May. Last season, Pujara was bought by Kings XI Punjab for around £190,000. India are also scheduled to tour Bangladesh in June.

"It's still up in the air at the moment," Welch said. "We'll have to look at their schedule and try and get somebody in for those three months that he isn't here. There could be a lot of Australians hanging around because they might want to be in the country ahead of the Ashes tour. We just got to keep our ear to the ground and go from there."

A second overseas signing for the NatWest T20 Blast is dependent on the club's financial position: "We'll have to see where we are with the budget in terms of possibly signing a second overseas for T20. We of course want to improve our performances in that format and this could be one option."