India batter Cheteshwar Pujara on Sunday (August 24) announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

In a post on his X handle, 37-year-old Pujara wrote, “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 Indian cricket. Thank you for all the love and support!”

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Pujara played 103 Tests and five ODIs for India. He made his international debut in a Test against Australia in Bengaluru in 2010. He scored 7,195 Test runs with 19 centuries and 35 fifties.

He had not played for India since 2023, his last Test being the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval in London.

Pujara thanks coaches, mentors

In his X post, Pujara thanked BCCI, Saurashtra Cricket Association, teams, franchises, coaches, mentors, and others.

“As a little boy from the small town of Rajkot, along with my parents, I set out to aim for the stars; and dreamt to be a part of the Indian cricket team,” Pujara wrote.

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“Little did I know then that this game would give me so much – invaluable opportunities, experiences, purpose, love, and above all a chance to represent my state and this great nation.

“I would like to thank the BCCI, and Saurashtra Cricket Association for the opportunity and support through my cricket career. Am equally grateful to all the teams, franchises and counties I have been able to represent over the years.

“The game has taken me to places across the globe – and the passionate support and energy of the fans has always been a constant. I have been humbled by the wishes and motivation wherever I have played and will always remain grateful.

“I would’t have made it this far without the invaluable guidance of my mentors, dcoaches and spriritual guru – to them I shall always remain indebted.”

Over 20,000 first-class runs

With 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, Pujara stands at eighth place in the all-time leading run-getters from India. He also amassed 21,301 runs in first-class cricket.

With another domestic season around the corner, Pujara was expected to turn up for Saurashtra but the champion batter thought it was the right time move on.

During his time away from the Indian team, Pujara turned to commentary and was part of the broadcast team for the recent India-England series in the UK. As recently as last month, he seemed committed to play another year of domestic cricket and was keeping up with his fitness routine even while commentating.

Following the retirement of Rahul Dravid, he became the wall of the Indian Test team especially in overseas conditions.

His conventional methods may not be the most attractive but were very effective. He was brilliant at tiring out the bowlers and batting time, something that was best displayed on the back-to-back tours of Australia in 2018 and 2021 when he played a pivotal role in the team’s successive series wins Down Under.

After the team moved on from him and Ajinkya Rahane in 2023, Pujara piled on runs in domestic cricket with the hunger of a teenager.