Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s dependable No.3, has retired from all forms of cricket. Known for his grit, resilience, and match-saving knocks, he leaves a big void in the Test team, much like when he once succeeded Rahul Dravid in the crucial No.3 role.
Veteran Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara stunned the Indian cricket fraternity by announcing his retirement from all forms of the game on Sunday, August 24. Pujara decided to call time on his illustrious career, especially in Test cricket, quietly, in a manner that mirrored his calmness and understated presence at the crease.
The 37-year-old took to his social media handles and announced his decision to bid adieu to all formats of Indian cricket, while reflecting on his journey from a young Rajkot boy to representing India at the international level, and thanked the BCCI, Saurashtra Cricket Association, family, teammates, and friends for their unwavering support throughout his cricketing journey. Pujara’s last appearance for India was in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 against Australia.
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Though the BCCI selectors moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara to give opportunities to the next generation of players, the Saurashtra cricketer still went back to domestic cricket and kept piling on runs, especially in the Ranji Trophy, proving his hunger and determination to keep contributing to the game he had loved the most since childhood.
Pujara’s relentless run-scoring in domestic cricket stood as a testament to his resilience, work ethic, and unshakeable passion for the sport, qualities that defined his career at the highest level.
Rahul Dravid’s successor and India’s Dependable No.3 in Tests
When Rahul Dravid retired from international cricket in 2012, Cheteshwar Pujara was already part of India’s Test setup, seamlessly stepping into the No.3 role and carrying forward Dravid’s legacy with grit and determination. Though Pujara made his Test debut in 2010 against Australia, Saurashtra was already earmarked as India’s long-term option for the No.3 spot, given his performance in domestic cricket, where he amassed 807 runs and 906 runs in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 Ranji Trophy seasons, respectively.
In 2012, seven months after Rahul Dravid played his Test match in January, Cheteshwar Pujara announced his arrival in international cricket with a century, playing a gritty innings of 159 off 306 balls against New Zealand in Hyderabad in August. When a Saurashtra cricketer followed up with a double century against England in November that year in Ahmedabad, India found the perfect heir to Dravid’s No.3 slot, a batter who could blunt fierce attacks, anchor India’s innings under pressure, and epitomise traditional virtues of Test cricket.
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After that double century against England, Cheteshwar Pujara was confirmed as India’s No.3 batter for the next 11 years, successfully into the shoes of Rahul Dravid, who was nicknamed ‘The Wall’ because of his impassable defence and ability to wear down the opposition bowlers, traits that Pujara too embodied in his own unique, unflincting style.
Just like Dravid, Pujara frustrated the bowlers with his solid defence and temperament, and ability to play marathon innings, which can be evidenced from a record 525-ball vigil for his 202 against Australia in Ranchi in March 2017, an innings that perfectly showcased his remarkable patience, concentration, and indomitable spirit. Since his Test debut in 2010, Cheteshwar Pujara has scored the second-most runs for India at home, amassing 3839 runs, including 10 centuries and 20 fifties, at an average of 52.58 in 51 matches.
A warrior who stood tall amid fire and blows
Cheteshwar Pujara has played an instrumental role in the success of Indian Test cricket over the last decade at home and overseas, including two successive Border-Gavaskar Trophy series wins in Australia in 2018/19 and 2020/21. What made me stand out among other players who played with him was his unflinching courage to stand all for the team amid the storm while absorbing countless blows.
When Pujara made his No.3 as his own after Rahul Dravid’s retirement, he not only shouldered the responsibility of anchoring the innings but also emerged as the bedrock around which the team built many of its greatest victories in Tests. Like Dravid, Cheteshwar Pujara was like a wall, breaking it is an impossible task for the bowlers. Therefore, opposition bowlers would often resort to short-pitched barrages and bodyline tactics.
One of the finest examples of Cheteshwar Pujara’s courage amid the blows was in the Gabba Test, where India was chasing history in January 2021. In a 329-run chase, Pujara played a gritty innings of 56 off 211 balls, including seven boundaries. During his valiant innings, the veteran batter took 11 painful blows yet refused to budge and stood tall like a warrior in armour to help India break Australia’s dominance at The Gabba after 32 years.
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Taking pain for India is not only restricted to taking blows, but also playing through injuries, niggles, and physical exhaustion, never letting his discomfort overshadow his responsibility to the team. Pujara often played marathon innings throughout the day, soaking up pressure and wearing down the bowlers, proving time and again that it is his resilience, grit, and most importantly, the responsibility entrusted to him as No.3 batter that earned him as one of the strongest pillars of India’s batting in Tests in the modern era.
Pujara retired with a void to fill
Cheteshwar Pujara retired from Indian cricket as India’s eighth leading run-getter, with 19 centuries and 35 fifties, at an average of 43.60 in 103 matches. Pujara is the leading run-getter for Team India in Tests since making his debut in the format in 2010.
However, Pujara’s retirement from Indian cricket, especially Tests, further left a huge void to fill the No.3 spot. When Dravid retired, Cheteshwar Pujara was confirmed to take the crucial spot, and now the Saurashtra cricketer pulled the curtains down on his illustrious career, India once again finds itself searching for a dependable rock at No.3.
After the selectors moved on from Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests, the team management tried five different players, including Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, and Karun Nair, but India could not zero in on Pujara’s potential successor. Gill was considered the next No.3 batter, having scored 1019 runs, including 3 centuries and as many fifties, at an average of 37.74 in 17 matches. However, after Virat Kohli’s Test retirement, Gill was slotted to the No.4 spot during the England Test series.
In the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair were tried as No.3 batter, but neither could replicate Pujara’s consistency and resilience to blunt the England bowlers in demanding conditions. His departure has not only left India with a technical gap at No.3, but also an emotional void in the dressing room, one that can only be filled by someone who is willing to take pain in stride, just like Pujara did for over a decade.