‘Pujara would have retired after IND vs ENG 5th Test’: ‘Big factor’ behind decision decoded

Cheteshwar Pujara brought the curtains down on his illustrious career on Sunday as he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. One of the best number three batters produced by India, the veteran finished with 7195 runs from 103 Tests and 21301 runs from 278 first-class matches. Pujara last played a Test for India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2023 against Australia. Since then, he was left out of the national team but continued playing for Saurashtra in domestic tournaments.

What forced Pujara to retire?

As per Times of India, a source claimed that Pujara could have possibly retired after the IND vs ENG 5th Test, had he been picked in the series. The source pointed out that the veteran not playing in the IPL coupled with his snub from the Duleep Trophy 2025/26 could have potentially been a big factor behind his decision to not continue playing – either in internationals or in the domestic circuit.

“Perhaps if he was picked for the Test series in England, Pujara would have retired after the fifth Test. Look, one big factor in his retirement is also the fact that he doesn’t play in the IPL. In that case, the Test snub and the Duleep Trophy snub meant there was little point in continuing to play domestic cricket for Saurashtra,” the source claimed.

Despite being a red-ball stalwart, Pujara – along with Rahane – was left out from West Zone’s team for Duleep Trophy. His decision to retire interestingly came just two days after reports claimed that he had expressed interest to play for Saurashtra in the upcoming Ranji Trophy season.

Meanwhile, he last featured in the IPL way back in 2014 for PBKS. While he was bought by CSK for Rs 50 lakhs in the IPL 2021 auction, he warmed the bench throughout the season. Thereafter, he found no takers in the auction in 2022, 2023 and 2024 either.

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