"Feels odd.." Cheteshwar Pujara recalls fond memories of playing Ranji Trophy as 2025-26 season gets underway

By Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek has a Master's in Journalism and has written more than 50,000 articles. He currently works as a cricket content writer at Khel Now.

Published at :October 15, 2025 at 4:17 PM

Modified at :October 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM

(Courtesy : Getty Images)

Cheteshwar Pujara wished good luck to the players who are participating in Ranji Trophy 2025-26.

India’s major red-ball domestic cricket tournament, Ranji Trophy’s 2025-26 season got underway on Wednesday, 15th October. It will be the first time in last 20 years that the former Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara won’t be taking part in the tournament. The right-handed batter announced his retirement from Indian cricket last month.

Pujara, who represented Saurashtra in Indian domestic cricket, recalled his fond memories of the Ranji Trophy as the 2025-26 season kicked off on Wednesday. He further added that it feels odd for him not to be part of the India’s premier red-ball domestic tournament.

For Indian Cricket Team, he was a test specialist batsman and played 103 games before his retirement last month. He played his last test match for India during ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final against Australia. Since 2023, he was dropped from the test side, but continued with his spectacular form in domestic cricket. However, he retired from the game earlier this year as he wasn’t preferred anymore for the test side.

Cheteshwar Pujara recalls memories of playing in Ranji Trophy

As Ranji Trophy 2025-26 kicked off on October 15, Pujara shared a heartwarming post on Instagram, recalling his memories of playing in the Ranji Trophy. He also wished good luck to players part of the tournament this year.

“With the Ranji Trophy season underway today, it feels odd to not be playing for the first time since making my Ranji debut in 2005. But gives me the time to reflect on the importance of the competition to Indian cricket, and reminisce some fond memories of playing with my state teammates over the years,” he wrote.

“To all the players starting their campaign today – wishing everyone the very best for the 2025-26 season. Cherish the opportunity as it’s a competition like no other!,” he added.

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A post shared by Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar_pujara)

Meanwhile, with 7195 runs in 103 games in test cricket at an average of 43.61, Pujara was one of the greatest batters to play for India. He also hammered 19 centuries in his career, which included three double centuries.

Cheteshwar Pujara represented which team in domestic cricket?

Cheteshwar Pujara represented Saurashtra team in domestic cricket.

When did Cheteshwar Pujara announce his retirement from all forms of cricket?

Cheteshwar Pujara announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in August 2025.

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Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.