Cheteshwar Pujara ended his long international career recently and announced his retirement from Indian cricket. Pujara, who made his Test debut in 2010, cemented his spot at number 3 after Rahul Dravid’s retirement.
He did get dropped from the playing XI on few occasions, but remained a regular in the squad for a decade. Pujara was a Test specialist. He only played five ODIs and never made it to the T20I team.
Pujara was part of IPL from 2008 to 2014. He made his return to the league in IPL 2021 but remained on the bench for champions, Chennai Super Kings. He went unsold from IPL 2015 to 2020 IPL auctions.
A few days after his retirement, Pujara has broken his silence on missing out IPL contracts and given a big statement. The India icon said that he doesn’t regret missing out on IPL contracts.
“I did miss out on IPL contracts but I don’t regret it. The appreciation from around the world means a lot because it’s not just my journey, it’s that of my family, my extended family, friends. I’m at peace that I’ve played for India for such a long time. When I started playing cricket from Rajkot and Saurashtra, at that time, no one thought that a cricketer from that region would play for India. I feel proud that a cricketer from Saurashtra played more than 100 Tests,” he told The Indian Express.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s IPL career
Pujara started his IPL career with Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2008 and stayed with them till 2010. He moved to Royal Challengers Bengaluru from IPL 2011 to 2013. He joined Punjab Kings in the IPL 2014 mega-auction. He didn’t get a bid in IPL auctions from 2015 to 2020.
CSK bid for Pujara in the IPL 2021 mini-auction. He was released before IPL 2022 and went unsold once again. Pujara scored 390 runs in 22 innings he played in the T20 league.