He featured in 103 Tests for India.
India batter Cheteshwar Pujara announced his retirement from all forms of the game on August 24. The 37-year-old cricketer called time on an illustrious 14-year career. He took to his social media accounts to declare the decision, and expressed satisfaction towards his long career. Pujara was one of the finest batters India produced in the longest format of the game. Not many players get to cross the 100-game milestone, and Pujara certainly did achieve the feat in his 103-match long career. He walked out for India at No.3, which is one of the most difficult positions to bat at, in Test cricket.
ABF
137/3
SKA
133/9
SLK
–
BR
–
DCDM
210/6
DVDM
211/9
Desert Vipers Development beat Dubai Capitals Development by 1 wickets
MIEDM
192/6
GGDM
155/5
SWDM
–
ADKRDM
–
GGDM
–
DCDM
–
NDT
69/1
CDK
167/8
New Delhi Tigers beat Central Delhi Kings by 9 wickets (D/L) method
SDS
–
WDL
–
PD
–
CDK
–
SDSW
121/8
CDQW
120/8
South Delhi Superstarz Women beat Central Delhi Queens Women by 1 run
ROM
129/6
CZR
133/7
Czech Republic beat Romania by 3 wickets
ROM
143/4
CZR
155/3
Czech Republic beat Romania by 12 runs
ROM
93/4
CZR
92/8
Romania won by 6 wickets
AUST
155/6
BEL
154/10
Austria beat Belgium by 4 wickets
AUST
146/6
BEL
144/9
Austria beat Belgium by 4 wickets
BAC
–
UCCB
–
LKLS
–
ACB
–
UCCB
–
ACB
–
BAC
–
UCCB
–
LKLS
–
ACB
–
DURH
300/8
BB
303/6
Birmingham Bears beat Durham by 4 wickets
NOR
189/10
MID
192/6
Middlesex beat Northamptonshire by 4 wickets
KENT
269/9
SOM
270/6
Somerset won by 4 wickets
ESS
289/10
GLO
159/10
Essex beat Gloucestershire by 130 runs
SUSS
284/9
YOR
286/4
Yorkshire beat Sussex by 6 wickets
LEI
312/9
WOR
328/10
Worcestershire won by 16 runs
HAM
341/7
DER
339/5
Hampshire beat Derbyshire by 3 wickets
NOT
279/9
SURR
289/8
Surrey beat Nottinghamshire by 10 runs
QAT
243/2
KNY
242/8
Qatar beat Kenya by 8 wickets
PNG
148/10
KWT
149/6
Kuwait beat Papua New Guinea by 4 wickets
JER
–
DEN
–
GER-W
44/8
IRE-W
223/1
Ireland Women beat Germany Women by 179 runs
ITA-W
86/9
NED-W
90/3
Netherlands Women beat Italy Women by 7 wickets
KRMPS
109/7
SBSCC
79/6
ACE KRM Panthers beat SBS CC by 30 runs
BNC
46/9
KUMS
74/6
Kuwait Swedish beat Bader & Nie Cricket Club by 28 runs
CAGS
174/3
ATR
173/7
Calicut Globstars beat Adani Trivandrum Royals by 7 wickets
KBTS
237/6
ARKS
236/5
Kochi Blue Tigers beat Aries Kollam Sailors by 4 wickets
ARKS
–
TTS
–
ALRS
–
ATR
–
BNB
146/9
MGD
149/1
Mangalore Dragons won by 9 wickets
SML
181/7
MYW
180/6
Shivamogga Lions Won by 3 wickets
SML
–
HBT
–
MGD
–
GBM
–
YSG
128/10
ROS
133/3
Royal Oman Stallions beat Yallah Shabab Giants by 7 wickets
MAT
134/3
RNC
132/4
Majees Titans beat Renaissance Challengers by 7 wickets
RNC
–
ROS
–
MUT
–
IAI
–
AUS
431/2
SA
155/10
Australia won by 276 runs
IPS
116/10
TMB
119/2
Toombul beat Ipswich by 8 wickets
SBB
2/0
WSS
–
SGR
149/5
WYN
148/10
Sandgate Redcliffe beat Wynnum Manly by 5 wickets
RLS
173/6
SSC
158/10
Redlands beat Sunshine Coast by 15 runs
GCT
133/7
UOQ
132/8
Gold Coast beat University of Queensland by 3 wickets
NSBB
187/8
VLLY
232/4
Valley beat Northern Suburbs by 45 runs
NSBB
–
GCT
–
WEF
150/6
TRR
152/7
Trent Rockets beat Welsh Fire by 3 wickets
MAO
109/7
BIP
113/3
Birmingham Phoenix beat Manchester Originals by 7 wickets
OVI
–
LOS
–
WFW-W
122/9
TRW-W
145/6
Trent Rockets Women beat Welsh Fire Women by 23 runs
MOW-W
95/10
BIP-W
111/3
Birmingham Phoenix Women beat Manchester Originals Women by 16 runs
OIW-W
–
LSW-W
–
CHK
130/10
AS-A
131/4
Adelaide Strikers Academy beat Chicago Kingsmen by 6 wickets
PS
107/10
PSA
155/8
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Pakistan Shaheens by 48 runs
AS-A
190/6
PSA
205/2
Perth Scorchers Academy beat Adelaide Strikers Academy by 15 runs
MEMA
184/7
NOSK
143/9
Meerut Mavericks beat Noida Super Kings by 41 run
KARS
187/4
LUF
168/7
Kashi Rudras beat Lucknow Falcons by 19 runs
KASS
–
MEMA
–
KARS
–
GOLS
–
The solid batter last played a Test for India in June 2023. He lost his place in the side after that subject to some poor performances. Him and Ajinkya Rahane were soon dropped from the side, as India looked to look past the experienced duo. Since June 2023, India tried six batters at the No.3 spot, with Shubman Gill being the most successful. However, skipper Gill moved a place down the order post Virat Kohli’s retirement. In the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the Indians tried Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair for the role. But none of them were able to cement their spot.
After Pujara decided to hang his boots, he soon revealed the thought process behind the decision. He took the step despite being available to play the Ranji Trophy, and felt that it is extremely important to groom youngsters at the right age. Pujara also revealed that it was his own decision to hang his boots, and was not influenced by any other factor. He also spoke about a couple of moments in his career, which he will cherish forever.
“This was my personal call, and I decided that this is the right time and I think the young players should get an opportunity in domestic cricket. Earlier, I thought I might play the Ranji season, but then I thought if a younger player got an opportunity, they will be groomed early, so this was my personal call” India’s former No.3 said in an interview with Sports Tak.
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The cricketer from Saurashtra was a force to reckon with at No.3. Some of the Australian pacers were not shy to admit that Pujara was one of the most difficult batters they ever had to bowl to. To add to that, Pujara’s innings in the fourth Test in Brisbane in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020/21 was where he took his resilience to another level. What helped Pujara was his calm demeanour and composed head on his shoulders. Though he was not the most technically correct batter to play the game, he had his own ways to adapt to the situation.
His gesture towards the youngsters in terms of creating space which would allow them to gain more exposure speaks volumes of the thought process. When asked about the fondest memories of his career, the former No.3 had absolutely no doubts in his mind. He picked two games Down Under as the best highlights in his career. India’s first series win on Australian soil came in 2018/19 under Virat Kohli. Furthermore, the series victory in 2020/21 when India faced a lot of adversities was a lot special too. Some of his great knocks came under pressure.
“In 2018, the team won a series on Australian soil for the first time — that was a memorable moment for me. Then in 2021, they won the Test series again. Both of those series are very special to me” Pujara added.
In the 103 Tests he played, Pujara notched up 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60. In his 14-year career, he scored 19 tons and 35 half-centuries, doing most of the heavy lifting at No.3. He scored the most of his runs against Australia and England, two oppositions that he loved playing against. The Indians have been on the hunt for a No.3 ever since he was dropped, but haven’t been able to persist with any. It would be interesting to notice how India choose to fill the Cheteshwar Pujara void.
Antigua and Barbuda Falcons won by 7 wickets