Former Australia Test opener Will Pucovski has retired from all levels of cricket with immediate effect due to concussion. Pucovski has been forced to retire from professional cricket following a recommendation from a panel of experts. The batter faced a series of incidents where he was hit on the head, causing him concussions, during his career. The latest episode of concussion happened in March 2024. Pucovski was forced to retire hurt when a delivery hit him on the helmet during a Sheffield Shield match. It sidelined him for the remainder of the Australian summer and led him to withdraw his contract with Leicestershire for the English summer of 2024, ICC reports.
The 27-year-old exclusively revealed the news on SEN's Whateley on Tuesday morning.
"I wish I was coming in under better circumstances. I'm not going to be playing cricket again. It's been a really difficult year to put it as simply as possible. The simple message is, I won't be playing at any level again," Pucovski said on SEN Whateley.
"After that century in Sydney (in my second last game), I thought from a personal point of view things were starting to click for me. I put a mountain of effort into getting things right off the field to be good on the field," he added.
Last year, a medical panel recommended the 27-year-old retire.
He featured 36 times at the First Class level, scoring seven tons and nine fifties across a promising stint for his state including a top score of 255 not out against South Australia in 2020.
In his sole Test appearance against India at Sydney in the 2020/21 season, he made 62 and 10.
Pucovski said he will remain in cricket as the head coach of Premier Cricket side Melbourne, the same club where he made his First XI debut as a teenager in the 2014/15 summer.
"It's definitely something that I'm really passionate about. I'm going to be coaching the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club) next year, which is really exciting. It's always felt like a second home to me and I've always felt the love and support from the MCC while playing at higher levels or playing for them.
"I've been around there since I was 11 or 12 with their junior academy and all the way through. Coaching is always something that I've always wanted to scratch that itch with. I'm really excited to give that a go and see where it takes me," Pucovski said.
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