Varun Chopra joins Sussex on loan

Photo: Nick Wood (Unshaken Photography - www.unshaken-photography.co.uk)

Sussex Cricket is delighted to announce that Essex batsman Varun Chopra has joined the club on loan.

The 32-year-old will be available for Sussex’s next three matches: the Specsavers County Championship match against Northamptonshire at The 1st Central County Ground, the tourist match against Australia A at Arundel Castle and the Championship encounter with Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

Reacting to the signing, head coach Jason Gillespie said: “We haven’t been as effective with the bat this season as we would like. We’ve given guys lots of opportunities but feel now is the time to strengthen our line-up.

“Varun was available and as an experienced player with a proven first-class record he fits the bill perfectly for the strong batting performances we’re looking for.

“He’s desperate to play and to perform in Championship cricket, and we look forward to welcoming him into the dressing room.”

Varun added: “I’m looking forward to my spell at Sussex and the challenge of playing first-class cricket over the next few weeks. Hopefully I can score some runs and help Sussex cement their position in the promotion spots.

“I used to room with Laurie [Evans] at Warwickshire and gave Aaron Thomason his debut as Bears captain a few years back and I did a couple of Lions tours with CJ [Chris Jordan] so I know a few of the guys well.

“I’ve had a couple of decent scores at Hove and have played against Sussex a lot over the years and now I am excited about the opportunity to play for them.”

Varun is a vastly experienced opening batsman with over 10,000 first class runs at an average of nearly 35 in 187 matches since his debut as an 18-year-old in 2006.

He scored his maiden first-class century on Championship debut in the same season and has gone on to make a further 19 hundreds.

During his time at Warwickshire, he was the club’s top-scorer in the Championship for three consecutive seasons, scoring over 1,000 runs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Varun has been part of two Championship winning sides - Warwickshire in 2012 and Essex in 2017 – and has played seven first-class matches for England Lions.

He will wear squad number two for Sussex.