Cheteshwar Pujara has reckoned that he was thinking about his retirement since last week, and then he decided on Sunday. He had scored 7195 runs at a staggering average of 43.60, in which he had smashed 19 hundreds and 35 fifties after playing in 103 Test matches, and then announced his retirement. He last represented the country during the 2023 WTC summit clash against Australia.

After that, he has been participating in domestic tournaments and has scored 402 runs after playing in seven matches for Saurashtra during the Ranji Trophy last year. During an interaction with Aaj Tak, Pujara revealed that he didn't think about his retirement initially and only thought about it this week.

The veteran batter said that he was proud to announce his retirement and that representing his country was his childhood dream.

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"See, I didn’t think much about it earlier. For about a week, I thought a little that this is the right time. So today, when I took this decision, it was quite a proud moment for me and for my whole family. On this day, I want to thank all my teammates, my coaches, and all the support staff I worked with, because this is a proud moment for me. Representing the Indian team, from childhood, when I was small, it was always a dream to play for India. When that dream got completed and for so many years this journey went on, we created so many memories, so there are many proud moments in my career till now," Pujara was quoted as saying to Aaj Tak.

'This was my personal call'

Speculations were rife that he was gearing up for the upcoming Ranji Trophy, but he said that it was the right time for him to retire from all formats and should instead let the youngsters play.

He admitted that he doesn't have any regrets and that he was quite happy to enjoy a successful career.

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"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 would 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. About the past few years, when I wasn’t part of the Indian team, I don’t want to speak much. For me, this is a very memorable day, and the journey with the Indian team, the matches and the series we played, the team’s performances, they all mean a lot to me. Actually, today is a proud moment, a happy day. I got the opportunity to play for India for so many years. In my career, I had two big injuries in 2009 and 2011. To recover from them and still play so many years, I never thought it would happen. So I am grateful that I got the chance to play for the Indian team for so many years," he concluded.

He ended his career in the longest format as the eighth-highest run-scorer.