Varun Chopra will return to Essex after signing a three-year contract with the county.

Chopra, 29, began his career at Chelmsford, scoring a century on his Championship debut in 2006.

The batsman has spent the last seven seasons with Warwickshire and has been the county’s leading run-scorer in four of the last five seasons, being the only man in the side to reach 1,000 Championship runs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Chopra said: “I am delighted to be re-joining Essex, a club where I have fond memories from the early stages of my career. I look forward to returning as a more developed player and being part of a talented, ambitious and exciting team led by Chris Silverwood.

“As I enter a key stage in my career, I am intent on contributing in all formats of the game and in doing that, I hope to achieve my desire to play for England.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Warwickshire, the players and the fans at Edgbaston for their support over the past seven seasons.”

Chopra was an integral part of Warwickshire’s T20 Blast winning side of 2014 and was also the club captain last season.

Essex head coach Chris Silverwood said: “We are delighted Varun is re-joining us and coming back to the club where he started his professional career. His Division One experience will be invaluable to our batting line-up and younger players.

“It is great to have an Essex man coming back to the club and he will be a great addition for us moving forward.”