Australian cricketer Will Pucovski has been forced to retire from professional cricket at the age of 26 following a series of concussions sustained throughout his career.
Pucovski, whose cricketing journey began in 2017, has a long history of injuries resulting from concussions. His most recent setback occurred in March 2024, when a delivery from Riley Meredith struck him on the helmet during a Sheffield Shield match while representing Victoria. This injury ruled him out for the remainder of the Australian cricket summer and led him to withdraw from a county cricket deal with Leicestershire for the English summer of 2024, according to Wisden.
Beyond the physical toll, Pucovski admitted that the constant injuries and concussions also took a significant toll on his mental health.
Despite his challenges, Cricket Victoria, Pucovski’s state team, offered him a contract for the 2024-25 season. However, Cricket Australia stipulated that Cricket Victoria would need to hold off on the contract until Pucovski underwent an assessment by a committee comprising representatives from both organizations and independent medical experts.
On Thursday, 9News Melbourne reported that this committee had ultimately decided to end Pucovski’s playing career.
Pucovski’s international career was brief, featuring just one Test match for Australia, where he scored 62 and 10 against India during the 2020-21 season. In 36 first-class games, he amassed 2,350 runs at an impressive average of 45.19, including seven centuries and nine fifties. In List A cricket, he played 14 matches, scoring 333 runs at an average of 27.75, with one century and two fifties in 12 innings.
Notably, Pucovski is one of the rare Australian international players who never participated in a T20 match since the inception of the Big Bash League (BBL) in 2011, although he was offered a deal by the Melbourne Stars during the 2020-21 season.