Cheteshwar Pujara retires from all forms of Indian cricket

India’s veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara has decided to retire from all formats of the game, announcing his decision on X on Sunday. Pujara played 103 Tests and 5 ODIs for India after making his debut back in 2010. He scored 7,195 Test runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 hundreds and 35 fifties.

The right-hander provided solidarity while batting at one drop after taking the crucial position from former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid. 

“Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field – it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket,” he said in a post on X.

Pujara scored his maiden Test century against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 2012. He played a key role in India’s maiden Test series win on Australian soil. Pujara scored 521 runs in four Test matches against the Aussies at an average of 74.43, including three centuries. 

On the 2020-21 tour of Australia, Pujara amassed 271 runs in four Test matches at an average of 33.88. Pujara took blows on his body during the historic Gabba Test, in which he scored 56 runs off 211 balls. 

“Today marks the end of an extraordinary chapter in Indian and Saurashtra cricket as Cheteshwar, one of the game’s most committed and technically gifted batsmen, announces his retirement from all forms of cricket,” President of Saurashtra Cricket Association Jaydev Shah said.

Overall, Pujara finishes with 21301 runs from 278 first-class games at an average of 51.82 and 66 hundreds and three triple hundreds.