New Delhi [India], August 24 : India's mainstays Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul extended wishes to Cheteshwar Pujara, who announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket, marking an end to a 15-year-long career.
On a regular Sunday morning, Pujara left the work of cricket in shock by silently announcing his exit. He joined India's batting bigwigs Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, to call it a day in Test cricket this year, a format that was the home of Pujara's true prowess, armed with the traditional batting style.
India's pace spearhead Bumrah took to Instagram, wished him the best for his next innings and wrote, "Cricket will miss you Pujji bhai. Wishing you success on your next chapter."
Stylish opener Rahul summed up the 37-year-old's prowess, took to Instagram and wrote, "An era of grit, patience and class. Happy retirement Pujji. Wish you very best in your next chapter."
In the last two years, the Indian team moved on from Pujara. His constant absence from the Test fold served as a prominent proof, even though he was active in India's domestic circuit for Saurashtra and Sussex in the County Championship.
Pujara made his debut in October 2010 and continued to put in the hard yards in the Test format, during an era where T20 cricket and franchise leagues gained prominence. His true strength resided in the impeccable defence and temperament.
The 37-year-old pulled the curtains down on his career after 103 Tests with 7,195 Test runs at 43.60, laced with 19 hundreds and 35 half-centuries during a journey that spanned over 15 years.
He was a part of several stories of success; the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy remains at the pinnacle of his best heroics. In his 1258-ball marathon, Pujara conjured 521 runs at 74.42 and topped the scoring charts in the series.
Pujara explained what prompted him to take the exit door and said, "This plan was going on for a week. I have not been a part of the Indian team for the last few years, but now I thought that this is the right time because young players have got an opportunity in domestic cricket, which is why I made this decision."
"When you take such a big decision, you take this decision only after talking to your family and your biggest players, so I consulted everyone, and then I decided that it is important to move on," he added.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
