Pujara joins Nottinghamshire as Pattinson cover

Cheteshwar Pujara, the India Test batsman, has signed for a four-match Championship stint with Nottinghamshire. He comes in as a replacement for Nottinghamshire's main overseas signing, James Pattinson, who has been called up by Australia for the Champions Trophy.

Pujara, who has previously played county cricket with Derbyshire and Yorkshire, will arrive in the UK later this month for the resumption of Championship cricket following the Royal London Cup group stage. He will be available for Notts' trip to play Glamorgan starting on May 19, as well as home and away fixtures against Gloucestershire and the visit of Derbyshire to Trent Bridge.

Nottinghamshire have made an excellent start to life in Division Two, with three wins from three putting them top. Pattinson has been a particular success, with 20 wickets at 11.15; although, less encouragingly, he was also the second-leading run-scorer, with Riki Wessels the only Notts batsman to reach three figures so far this season.

"We have looked around the world to find the right player," Nottinghamshire's director of cricket, Mick Newell, said. "The most important thing was to sign someone with the quality to make us better, rather than limiting our options by saying it had to be a bowler.

"We have depth in our squad with regards bowling and - particularly as we'll be without Alex Hales during that period - we're more than happy to welcome a world-class batsman to the club."

Pujara finished India's domestic season with 1316 runs at 62.66, which included two centuries against England on their November-December tour, but was not picked up for the IPL and spent April either practising in the nets or working on his fitness.

One of the few India players to take part in the Championship in recent years, Pujara has averaged more than 50 on both of his previous stints, in 2014 and 2015. He has twice played at Trent Bridge - on India's 2014 tour and while with Yorkshire.

"I'm ready for it. I'm already working on my skills and preparing for competitive cricket," Pujara said. "I love playing county cricket and Trent Bridge is a great venue. I'm really looking forward to my first experience there as a home player. The aim is to win as many games as possible so the team stays on top of the points table."