"He overextended his stay a little bit" - Former India batter's big statement on Cheteshwar Pujara's retirement post ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former India batter Robin Uthappa reckoned that veteran Cheteshwar Pujara delayed his retirement and could have walked away a little earlier. Pujara recently retired from all forms of Indian cricket after the five-match Test series against England.

Uthappa credited Cheteshwar Pujara for India's success in Test cricket during his stint with the side. However, he expressed that Pujara overextended his stay and should have called it quits after he was left out of the team for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

The veteran was not a part of the squad in the recently concluded England series as well.

"I think he overextended his stay a little bit. I think it was communicated to him that he will not be considered anymore and this England tour was the final straw. It seemed very bleak for Indian cricket to go back to him, Rahane, at the start of a new cycle. I reckoned when he didn't get picked in that Australia tour, he could have called it time. But obviously, it is very hard," he said on his YouTube channel 'Robin Uthappa'. (26:11)

Cheteshwar Pujara made his Test debut in 2010. He played 103 games and amassed 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 with 19 hundreds and 35 half-centuries.

Uthappa added that Pujara was a very gentle person to talk to, but had that fire in his eyes when he walked out to bat. He recalled an incident from a domestic game in 2009-10 between Karnataka and Saurashtra, where the 37-year-old had smashed a triple hundred, which highlighted his obsession with batting.

"I remember it was a first-class game in 2009-10, it was Karnataka versus Saurashtra and he got a triple hundred. He was batting 200-odd end of day's play. I went early in the morning to have a hit. This guy comes and rocks up at 7:30 in the morning after having scored a double hundred and batted the same amount of time that I batted before going into bat for the game. For him as a personality, he was obsessed with batting and being not out," he stated. (31:04)

Pujara had a staggering first-class career. He played 278 games and notched up 21301 runs at an average of 51.82 with 66 tons and 81 half-centuries.

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Robin Uthappa reveals how Cheteshwar Pujara gained resilience as a Test batter

In the same conversation, Uthappa revealed where Cheteshwar Pujara's resilience as a Test batter came from. He said that Pujara's father had told him that he had to always remain not out during his early days, which set his foundation.

"Pujji came from the opposition side of the administrative side that ran Saurashtra cricket. He was one of the son's of the administrators on the other side. For him, growing up, his dad told him it doesn't matter how many runs you score, you just cannot get out," he said. (33:06)

"So, literally through Under-14 and Under-16 cricket, he did not get out and that tells you a story of how he developed himself as a player. That is the foundation on which his cricket was built. You have to be stubborn at a very deep level and that is why he had the resilience," he added.

Cheteshwar Pujara was deemed the modern-day wall of Indian cricket after the legendary Rahul Dravid. Uthappa hailed Pujara for the discipline he showed in Test cricket. He reckoned that even dead batting needed self-awareness and was extremely challenging.

The former white-ball India batter also felt that the celebration of Pujara's career was subdued due to his subdued personality. The veteran last played a Test during the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval.