More than anybody else, Cheteshwar Pujara knows that it was time for him to say goodbye without any regrets because he hasn’t played Test cricket in the last two years.
On Sunday, Pujara, 37, declared his retirement from professional cricket after amassing 7195 runs in 103 Test matches, including 19 hundreds, at a respectable average of 43 plus.
“There are no regrets. I am very fortunate to have played for the Indian team for such a long time, not many players got that opportunity so I am very thankful to my family and people who have supported me,” Pujara told reporters in Rajkot.
During the most recent Test series in England, he began working as a broadcaster and said he had discovered his calling in commentary.
“I am really happy that I am calling this off but at the same time I will stay attached to the game. As a cricketer, I would like to stay associated to the cricket, doing commentary and I have started doing media work as well.
“I am not going to play cricket but I will be watching the Indian team and commenting in it. The honour will continue,” he added.
After Rahul Dravid retired in 2012, he took over the No. 3 place for the following ten years, although he made his Test debut in 2010.
Although he had two spectacular tours of Australia, his most notable legacy will always be the 2018–19 series, in which he faced up to 1258 deliveries and scored 521 runs with three hundreds.
“There have been many great moments on the field but if I have to single out one Test series on the Australian soil in 2018 was one of the best achievements of my cricketing career and one of the best memories for the India team as well,” he said.
“It was one of the best series I have been a part of.”
In the second innings in Bengaluru, Pujara, who almost pushed his way into the Indian squad against Australia in 2010, hit 72 runs in a run-chase. He recalled his initial feelings of astonishment upon entering the Indian dressing room.
“I made my debut for the Indian team in 2010, that was one of the proudest moment of my cricketing journey. When I made my debut in 2010 under Mahi bhai (Mahendra Singh Dhoni), it was a dream come moment for me because there were some great players in the team.
“Players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, I am still trying to recollect those names.. whom I have grown up watching so it was one of the proudest moments of my cricketing career.”
On a very personal level, he thought about his mother, Reena Pujara, who died of cancer in 2005 when he was just 17 years old.
“…she always used to tell my father that don’t worry about your son eventually he will play for the Indian team and her words come true and I am sure she will be very proud of the achievements I have made in my cricketing journey.
“But at the same time I still remember her words, she used to tell me that you need to be a good person no matter how big you become as a cricketer, I still remember that and she will be very proud of me.”
The seasoned batter also thanked Haricharan Das Ji Maharaj, his spiritual mentor, for keeping him calm and composed under pressure.
“I would also like to thank my spiritual guru, Shri Haricharan Das Ji Maharaj, who has contributed in my spiritual journey. His words, ‘You need to be mentally calm and focus on the game because you play in a high-pressure situation, not just in cricket but in life and he has taught me so many things and to stay balanced and focused’.”
