Coronavirus: Gloucestershire cancel deals for Cheteshwar Pujara, Qais Ahmad & AJ Tye

Cheteshwar Pujara agreed a deal with Gloucestershire in February

Gloucestershire have cancelled the contracts of overseas stars Cheteshwar Pujara, Qais Ahmad and AJ Tye for the 2020 season because of the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

No professional cricket will be played until at least 1 July.

A club statement said they can "weather the storm" but revenue will "likely drop significantly well into 2021".

"We know how excited we were at seeing new and returning faces this year," the statement on the website said.

"We're very sorry this won't be possible. The delay to the season, the postponement of The Hundred and the later start of the T20 Blast, as well as the aforementioned financial pressures, meant it just wasn't feasible to 'bring them over' in 2020.

"We would like to thank all three of them for their support and understanding."

India batsman Pujara had agreed a deal to play Gloucestershire's first six County Championship matches but the club confirmed last month the opportunity for him to join had been "missed".

Afghanistan spinner Ahmad had been set to play in the T20 Blast and the final six Championship games, while Tye has played T20 cricket for Gloucestershire in three of the past four seasons.