CHENNAI: There it was, the official announcement at 11.11 on a mundane Sunday morning. Cheteshwar Pujara is no longer an active cricketer. After 13 years and 103 Tests, the last of the batting stalwarts from the generation of R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma joined them in the legion of retired cricketers.
"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," the 37-year-old posted on social media.
Now, unlike the other aforementioned three, Pujara's retirement does not come as a surprise or a shock. In fact, his last appearance for India came two years ago at the World Test Championship final. And yet, there is a sense of warmth in the adulation and tributes that have followed since his announcement.
For the generation that grew up watching the Indian team through the 90s and 2000s, Pujara was the continuation of their childhood. The connecting factor who took forward the legacy of old school batting into the modern era. For the generation who was raised by IPL, Kohli and Rohit, Pujara gave them peace when he was out there on the 22 yards doing what he was born to do — bat.
Right from when he was about three, that was all he did. Arvind Pujara, the senior, put a bat in his hand, and made sure Cheteshwar followed. A former first-class cricketer, Arvind hoped and dreamt of making his son an India cricketer and did everything he could to make sure Cheteshwar was on the right path. Together, they aimed for the stars, were willing to put in the work, blood, sweat and toil, and the rewards came along in time. Watching his son walk out for the 100th time in Test cricket is a memory Arvind holds very dear.
In all 13 years of international cricket and more than two decades of professional sport, if there ever was one thing that defined Cheteswar, it was his love for batting. From the time he hit a triple century at U-14 level to his last first-class match (Saurashtra versus Gujarat) at his home ground in Rajkot earlier this year, batting was one constant. It did not matter if he was an India No 3 or someone on the fringes because of his slow batting or someone Indian cricket moved on from, Cheteshwar never moved on from batting, until Sunday. He was the kind of India cricketer and a red-ball specialist who never had to be told that he should play domestic cricket.
One example comes to mind. It was Day 1 of the third Test between India and England at Rajkot in February 2024. By then, the selectors had made it clear that they had moved on from Pujara, who was training at the venue along with his Saurashtra teammates for the next Ranji Trophy match against Manipur. Some of the scribes went to meet him during lunch, and he indulged. Cheteshwar checked in on the score, and responded saying it was not ideal to lose three wickets on that pitch for that score. He enquired about the pitch and went on to say that runs will come later. When the conversation veered towards his past records and what he could have done on the surface, Pujara redirected towards his next challenge — batting well and taking Saurashtra into knockouts.
That is just who he was. A polite team man who willed his way through the ranks with his batting. And his batting was as much about time as it was about runs. Watching him go about his routines at the crease can be therapeutic; almost like the comfort of re-watching your favourite sitcom again and again. He defended, took blows, maneuvered spinners and piled on runs. And the longer he batted, the safer the team was. Indian cricket knew it all too well. The fact that he featured in 11 SENA wins, more than any other Indian, sums up the kind of impact he had — which goes far beyond the 7195 runs, 19 centuries next to his name. For that, and everything else he has done over the last two decades, Indian cricket will always be thankful to Cheteshwar Pujara.
