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Cheteshwar Pujara has revealed he considered playing another season of Ranji Trophy this year but changed his decision this week.
Cheteshwar Pujara has announced his retirement from Tests.
(PC: AFP)
Cheteshwar Pujara has revealed he considered playing the Ranji Trophy 2025 season before announcing his retirement on Sunday (August 24), but decided against it to give chances to Saurashtra youngsters.
Pujara, an India and Saurashtra great, called off his career with 7,195 Test runs and a whopping 21,301 First-Class ones. For over a decade, he was India’s rock at number three and scored 18 double-centuries in First-Class cricket, the most for an Indian, seven more than the next best, Vijay Merchant.
In his retirement post, Pujara said ‘all good things come to an end’.
“This was my personal call and I decided that this is the right time, especially when young players should get opportunities in domestic cricket,” Pujara told SportsTak after the announcement. “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 added.
Pujara added that he wasn’t thinking about retiring until last week — indeed, in several interviews he said he wanted to continue pushing his case for an India comeback after 2023 — but this week was different.
“For about a week, I thought a little that this was the right time. So today, when I took this decision, it was 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.”
Pujara has already stepped into the commentary and broadcasting scene in India. It remains to be seen what lies ahead for one of India’s best Test specialists.
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