“Felt that it is the right time” - Cheteshwar Pujara opens up on his retirement

Cheteshwar Pujara announced retirement from all forms of cricket on August 23. The 37 year old was the force to reckon with on the cricket field whenever he represented India in whites. As he announced retirement the social media was flooded with congratulatory posts on his fantabulous career and his several colleagues joined the bandwagon. While some fans were apprehensive of his retirement, others recalled that the batsman still had fuel left in his tank to keep going.

Almost two days after his retirement, Pujara has come out and spoken about his decision. He asserted that he felt it was the right time to step down and give chance to the younger lot who have been working hard to make the mark. It is worth noting that, Pujara also played for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy and was a lawnmover while batting in the Indian domestic seasons year after year.

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“I felt that it is the right time to step out & give chances to the really talented young players in Saurashtra, for them to be a part of the playing 11 - get the exposure required to take the team forward,” said Pujara to Rev Sports.

Here’s a few stats for Pujara for the last 12 months

County- 6 centuries in 2023 for Sussex

Ranji trophy - scored his 18th double hundred & 25th Ranji.

Six centuries in 2024 for Saurashtra and Sussex combined 

Pujara crossed the 21000 run mark in first class cricket 

Scored 829 runs at 69:08 in 8 games in previous Ranji season

Crossed Brian Lara’s tally of first class hundreds- third only to Sunny & Sachin 

Pujara is fourth on the list of all time double hundred scorer’s in first class cricket - after Don Bradman (37) Hammond (36) Hendren (22)