Cheteshwar Pujara has retired from international cricket. The Indian batter bows out from all formats of the game as his team’s eighth-best run-getter in Test cricket. Pujara retires from international cricket after bagging 7,195 runs in 103 Tests. He achieved this feat with a 43.6 average and secured 19 tons and 35 half-centuries throughout his career.
He joins Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as one of several high-profile Test batters who chose to retire in 2025.
However, some reports suggest that Cheteshwar expected to feature in a few more Test games before calling it quits, but he didn’t get his chance. Let’s see the likely reasons behind Pujara’s sudden retirement after a long and remarkable Test career.
Why Did Cheteshwar Pujara Retire? Likely Reasons Behind the Test Purist’s Sudden End to Career
Back-to-back Test snubs
Pujara expressed desire to play for India but received no response from India’s cricket board on several occasions. He played no part for India in Whites at the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 and Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy (ATT) 2025. These shut-outs are likely reasons why he chose to end his professional cricket career.
Limited playing opportunities at domestic level
Repeat snubs from playing Test cricket added another layer when Pujara could not get a chance to feature in the Duleep Trophy. Falling down the pecking order at Test and domestic level seems like a great reason behind the veteran batter’s sudden retirement from all formats.
Age
Pujara is 37 years old and will not be an ideal fit for the BCCI’s current plan for Test batters across all orders. Some reports suggest that India’s cricket board favour younger players across all batting orders ahead of experienced but older hitters like Pujara.
For example, rumours surrounding Virat Kohli’s Test retirement suggest that the BCCI declined to offer him a leadership position based solely on his age. Younger players like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal will have a better chance at playing for the national team going forward, severely limiting Pujara’s Test opportunities.
Pujara also seemed to suggest his exit from international cricket was to ensure younger players get opportunities:
“This was my personal call and I decided that this is the right time, especially when young players should get opportunities in domestic cricket. Earlier, I thought maybe I will play this Ranji season, but then I felt that if young players get the opportunity, they will be ready sooner. So, this was my personal call,” he said during a recent interview.
Major Cheteshwar Pujara Records
Cheteshwar Pujara was mostly a Test player before his retirement from international cricket. He achieved some remarkable feats during his long career, and fans will remember him for several impressive outings with the bat for India.
| Sub-category / Record type | Rank | Record | Note |
| Career all-round milestone | – | 5000 runs and 50 fielding dismissals | Batting + fielding milestone |
| Nineties – match feat | – | Hundred and a ninety in a match | |
| Ducks / match feat | – | Hundred and a duck in a match | Scored a century in one innings and a duck in the other of the same Test |
| Long innings – Across match days | – | Batting on each day of a five-day match | Occupied crease on all five days of a Test |
| Fastest to career runs – 1000 runs | 16th | Fastest to 1,000 Test runs (by innings) | 18 innings |
| Fastest to career runs – 4000 runs | 18th | Fastest to 4,000 Test runs (by innings) | 84 innings |
| Innings partnerships (by wicket) | 20th | Highest partnership for the seventh wicket | 199 runs |
| Hundreds in consecutive matches | 22nd | Hundreds in consecutive matches | 3 (consecutive matches) |
| Fastest to career runs – 5000 runs | 24th | Fastest to 5,000 Test runs (by innings) | 108 innings |
| Ducks / pairs – Most innings before first duck | 25th | Most innings before first duck | 38 innings before first duck |
| Double hundreds – Most in career | 28th | Most double hundreds in a career | 3 double-hundreds |
| Long innings – Longest by balls faced | 30th | Longest individual innings (by balls) | 525 balls |
| Fastest to career runs – 6000 runs | 30th | Fastest to 6,000 Test runs (by innings) | 134 innings |
| Fastest to career runs – 3000 runs | 35th | Fastest to 3,000 Test runs (by innings) | 67 innings |
| Fastest to career runs – 7000 runs | 36th | Fastest to 7,000 Test runs (by innings) | 167 innings |
| Boundaries – Most fours in career | 45th | Most fours in career | 863 fours |
| Long innings – Longest by minutes | 46th | Longest individual innings (by minutes) | 672 minutes |
| Hundreds – Most hundreds in career | 47th | Most hundreds in a career | 19 hundreds |
| Fifties – Most fifties in career | 50th | Most fifties in career | 54 fifties |
