Cheteshwar Pujara, the star batsman for India, has announced his immediate retirement from all cricket-related activities. Officially, on Sunday, August 24, he announced that he will no longer play for either his home team, Saurashtra, or the national squad.
“It’s hard to describe the true meaning of wearing the Indian jersey, singing the song and giving it my all every time I took the pitch. With great appreciation, I have chosen to retire from all forms of Indian cricket since, as they say, all good things must come to an end. On his official social media account, the seasoned batter remarked, “Thank you for all the love and support.”
Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field – it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of… pic.twitter.com/p8yOd5tFyT
— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) August 24, 2025
“It’s hard to describe the true meaning of wearing the Indian jersey, singing the song and giving it my all every time I took the pitch. With great appreciation, I have chosen to retire from all forms of Indian cricket, but as they say, good things come to an end,” the Rajkot native stated.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Saurashtra Cricket Association and the BCCI for their support and opportunity throughout my cricket career. I am equally appreciative of every team, organisation, and county I have had the opportunity to represent over the years,” he continued.
The test numbers for Cheteshwar Pujara
In October 2010, the 38-year-old made his Test debut at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium against Australia. With a critical partnership with Sachin Tendulkar, he made an immediate impression with his batting, scoring a crucial 72 on debut in the second innings of the Test match and assisting India in chasing the target with maximum ease.
After Rahul Dravid retired, Cheteshwar Pujara swiftly solidified his position as India’s No. 3. The Test match specialist achieved his first double hundred against England at Motera in Ahmedabad, just over two years after making his debut. His highest score in international cricket to date is 206 not-out. That was not all, though, as he went on to score two more double hundreds, both of which were against Australia.
He now finishes his career with 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 while playing for the Indian side in 103 Test matches. He was a key member of the Virat Kohli-led team that won the No. 1 Test title for five years in a row and amassed 19 hundreds. He suffered several body knocks during India’s victory in the renowned Gabba win of 2021, and his most recent and productive contribution was one of the most underappreciated as Rishabh Pant stole the show.
His last Test match for India came in the 2023 World Test Championship Final, which they lost to Australia. Due to a drop in his form in the months leading up to the match, he was benched to create room for younger players. Despite his poor play, Pujara will be regarded for many years to come as an Indian team match-winner.