I'll be open to it: Just-retired Cheteshwar Pujara on possible coaching career

"I haven't genuinely thought about it. Whenever there is any opportunity which arises, I'll try and take a call then...I've mentioned this earlier also that I would like to stay attached to the game.

"So, in whatever manner I can contribute to Indian cricket, I'll be more than happy to do so," he added.

The thought of retiring from the ground did not cross Pujara's mind and he leaves the game with no regrets.

But he acknowledged that Test cricket is hardly played in the classical way nowadays even though the relevance of conventional batters remains very much intact.

Pujara was commentating in the UK where a young India side exceeded expectations to tie the five-match series. Over the course of the series one saw unabashed aggression from the likes of Rishabh Pant and Ben Duckett but at the same time, K L Rahul at the top of the order presented a picture of calm.

Having said that, the classical form of Test match batting is a dying art. Does it make someone like Pujara sad? "I don't think I am sad. I still feel that even in the current era, there is scope for a classical Test match player. But times have changed. One needs to move on with the time," he said.

"And if I had to tell anything to a young player, I would definitely say that you should choose playing all three formats of this game because we are seeing more white ball cricket now," he added.

The reason, according to him, is that players are getting picked in the Test squad based on their performances in the IPL, or in the ODI squad.

"So when you perform well in white ball cricket, you are automatically given a chance to represent the Indian Test team. And that's why their game is on the aggressive side," he explained.

But then he also cited the examples of Abhimanyu Easwaran and Karun Nair, who are getting in after performing well in Ranji Trophy.

"So there is still a scope for players who are doing well in Ranji Trophy and still getting picked in the Test squad," said Pujara, who was India's rock at number three for more than a decade.

In the England series, K L Rahul was one of the standout batters. He played the old fashioned way at the top of the order and got the desired results. For Pujara, Rahul's approach as an opener was a beacon of hope for classical Test batting, which meant wearing out the bowlers like he did brilliantly.

"He is one of the best Test batters we have currently in the squad...he is one of the most technically correct players in the Indian team. Also, it is good that he is opening the innings which is also setting the foundation for the entire team.

"We also saw that he performed well in Australia and then his form dipped a bit but now he is working on it...he is carrying on with his form, converting his starts into big scores which is a positive thing to see.

"Hope he carries on like that not just in Test cricket but in other formats as well," said Pujara.

Retirement sinking in, compliment from Kohli ============================= Though Pujara last played for India in 2023, he remained an active cricketer featuring for Saurashtra in Ranji Trophy and county cricket. He was planning to play another domestic season when he was commentating on the game in England but he came back to Rajkot and took the call to move on.

"Slowly it is sinking in. But at the same time, I'm really overwhelmed with all the love and support provided by all the family members, friends and my teammates, the coaches I've worked with, the cricket fans," he said.

Was it the retirements of fellow seniors like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma that prompted Pujara to say goodbye to the game? "When I was in the UK, I was actually looking forward to the season. But once I came back home, I was settling in. And when I was about to start my preparation for the Ranji Trophy, I wanted to speak to my family, to my friends, some of my colleagues. What are their thoughts on me playing this season.

"Because I knew that if I played another season, I would be holding a spot in the team and I didn't want to do that. And I wasn't 100 per cent sure that I wanted to carry on playing the entire season.

"So I thought that it was the best time for me to move on and provide an opportunity to the younger player who can be part of the Saurashtra team." Pujara, who faced 16217 balls in his Test career, allowed the likes of Kohli to play their natural game as he withstood the pressure from the other end.

On Kohli saying that he made life easier for him at number four, Pujara said: "It's a nice compliment from Virat. He's a great player.

"And if he's saying that I've made his life easier, I'm really proud because if you're a top-order batsman, your job is to ensure that the batters who bat at number 4, 5, 6, you make their life easier." India have not found a solid number three since Pujara left the scene. Does he see anyone in the current team performing that tough role in the long run? "Well, it's very hard to say at this stage. But Indian team has a lot of young, talented players. Someone like Sai Sudharshan has started this journey well. We saw some potential in his batting.

"At the same time, Karun Nair also scored a 50, though he was batting at number 5. Both Sai and Karun have shown a lot of potential going forward." On role of parents in his stellar career ========================= Known for his calm demeanour and affable personality, Pujara got a tad emotional talking about his father Arvind Pujara, his coach and former first-class player, and late mother, Reena Pujara.

"It was an emotional moment for him as well. He also was an inspiration for me because his commitment towards cricket was excellent and I've learnt a lot from him. But I also would like to thank my mom.

"I lost my mom when I was 17 because of cancer, but she taught me a lot of things. She taught me to be a good human being. My wife Pooja as well, she has written a book where she writes that it takes a village for a person to be a successful cricketer," he said.

Special series wins of 2018 and 2021 Down Under ================================ Australia brought the best out of Pujara, who helped India to back to back series wins Down Under. In the first one, he collected three hundreds and in the second, he took plenty of body blows that denied Australia in their own backyard.

Asked to pick his favourite, Pujara said: "It's hard to pick one series because both have been incredible ones. I was able to contribute in both the series in different ways.

"Maybe number of runs were more in 2018. But the kind of team we were playing with in 2021, despite having so many difficulties, we were playing through COVID times, there were a lot of restrictions, there were so many changes within the team for various reasons.

"...2018 was the first time when India won the Test series on Australian soil. So that is one of the proudest moments for me individually," he reflected.

"And the next one in 2020 and 2021 was an entirely different series where things were not going India's way and then we still to manage to win Test matches and win a Test series over there was a fantastic achievement," said Pujara.

While Australia was his happy hunting ground, he found England the toughest country to play in.

"If I had to pick one country where things were really challenging, I would go with English conditions." Learnings from Sachin, Dravid =================== The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were around when Pujara made his Test debut. The priceless conversations with them early in his career helped him excel in overseas conditions.

"...when you have so many senior players within the dressing room, you get to interact with the...Also, I had asked them questions about how to be successful in overseas conditions.

"I have spoken to each and every one of them individually and I have got great feedback, great inputs about how they prepared, what they saw in my game and what I had to work on going forward."