India's Final Match for Cheteshwar Pujara: Composition of the Team and Their Current Status
In a surprising turn of events, Cheteshwar Pujara, the former stalwart of the Indian cricket team, announced his retirement from all formats of the game on Sunday. Pujara's last Test match was the 2023 World Test Championship final at The Oval against Australia.
The final, played in July 2023, saw India respond with a commendable 296 runs, but in pursuit of a daunting target of 444, they collapsed for 234 runs. Pujara, who was in the line-up, scored 27 runs in his final innings wearing the national colours.
Rohit Sharma, who was the captain during Pujara's last match, retired from Test cricket ahead of the England series earlier this year. Virat Kohli, another key figure, had retired from both T20Is and Tests earlier in 2023.
Despite the retirement of these heavyweights, several players from the Indian cricket team who played in the WTC final against Australia remain active in the national team as of 2025. Established figures like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah continue to make significant contributions.
Notably, Shubman Gill has taken over as India's Test captain and is also the vice-captain of the T20I team. Umesh Yadav, a regular face in the Indian pace attack, has not played for India since the WTC final. In his absence, Mohammed Siraj has become the spearhead of India's pace attack in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Srikar Bharat, who was the first-choice wicketkeeper for India's Test team at the time, is no longer in the role. Shardul Thakur, another versatile all-rounder, is still in the mix for the Indian team.
Pujara, throughout his career, played 103 Test matches and 5 ODIs for India, scoring 7,195 Test runs with an average of 43.60. His retirement marks the end of an era for Indian cricket, and his contributions will undoubtedly be missed.
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