Cheteshwar Pujara broke silence on his decision to bid adieu to all forms of Indian cricket, revealing that he had thought about retirement for just about a week before making the call on Sunday (August 24).
Pujara’s last appearance for India was in 2023 during the World Test Championship final. Since then, the veteran batter has been playing domestic cricket, having fallen out of favour with the national selectors.
"See, I didn’t think much about it earlier. From about a week I thought a little that this is the right time. So today when I took this decision, it is quite a proud moment for me and for my whole family. On this day I want to thank all my teammates, my coaches and all the support staff I worked with, because this is a proud moment for me. Representing the Indian team, from childhood, when I was small, it was always a dream to play for India. When that dream got completed and for so many years this journey went on, we created so many memories, so there are many proud moments in my career till now," said Pujara while speaking to Aaj Tak.
There were reports claiming that Pujara was preparing for the upcoming Ranji Trophy season for Saurashtra. However, the 37-year-old felt it was the right time for him to step aside and make way for young stars.
Pujara made it clear that he had no regrets and was happy to enjoy a successful career. "This was my personal call and I decided that this is the right time, especially when young players should get opportunities in domestic cricket. Earlier I thought maybe I will play this Ranji season, but then I felt that if young players get the opportunity, they will be ready sooner. So this was my personal call. About the past few years when I wasn’t part of the Indian team, I don’t want too speak much," he stated.
"For me, this is a very memorable day, and the journey with the Indian team, the matches and the series we played, the team’s performances, they all mean a lot to me. Actually today is a proud moment, a happy day. I got the opportunity to play for India for so many years. In my career, I had two big injuries in 2009 and 2011, to recover from them and still play so many years, I never thought it would happen. So I am grateful that I got the chance to play for the Indian team for so many years," Pujara further remarked.
Cheteshwar Pujara represented India in 103 Tests, scoring 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 with the help of 19 hundreds and 35 half-centuries. The highlight of his career was the critical role he played in India’s Border-Gavaskar triumphs on Australian soil in 2018/19 and 2020/21.
Despite his impressive List A record, Pujara didn’t get much chance in white-ball cricket for India. He played five ODIs and amassed 51 runs in total.
