India's Pujara retires from all forms of cricket

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India's Pujara retires from all forms of cricket

2025-08-24 14:55 Last Updated At：15:01

NEW DELHI (AP) — India star batter Cheteshwar Pujara has retired from all forms of cricket on Sunday after representing his country in 103 test matches.

“Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field -- it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant,” Pujara said on X.

“But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket.”

The 37-year-old Pujara scored 7,195 runs in 103 test matches at an impressive average of 43.60, featuring 19 centuries and 35 half centuries.

Pujara hasn’t played a test match since competing against Australia at the World Test Championship final in 2023. He made his first class debut for Saurashtra in late 2005 and also played for them in the last Ranji Trophy season.

In his brief white-ball career, Pujara played five one-day internationals during 2013-14, but cemented his place in the test side while mostly batting at No. 3 after Rahul Dravid quit international cricket.

Pujara, a technically proficient right-handed batter, made his test debut against Australia at Bengaluru in 2010 and was part of many memorable victories against the same opposition in red-ball cricket.

He was named player of the series in what was India’s first test series win on Australian soil after scoring 521 runs across the four matches in the southern summer of 2018-19.

“As a little boy from the small town of Rajkot, along with my parents, I set out to aim for the stars and dreamt to be a part of the Indian cricket team,” Pujara said. “Little did I know then that this game would give me so much -- invaluable opportunities, experiences, purpose, love, and above all a chance to represent my state and this great nation.”

Pujara thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Saurashtra Cricket Association, franchises and counties in England and for supporting him throughout his career.

“The game has taken me to places across the globe – and the passionate support and energy of the fans has always been a constant,” he said. “Thank you for all the love and support!”

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Another construction crane collapse in Thailand kills 2 people a day after deadly train derailment

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (AP) — A construction crane collapsed onto an elevated road near Bangkok, killing two people on Thursday, a day after another crane fell on a moving passenger train in northeastern Thailand and killed 32 people.

The work on an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway — a major artery leading from Bangkok — has become notorious for construction accidents, some of them fatal.

The crane collapsed at part of the road project in Samut Sakhon province, trapping two vehicles in the wreckage, according to the government’s Public Relations Department.

Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Thai TV Channel 7 that two people had died. It was unclear if anyone else had been trapped in the wreckage.

There was uncertainty about the number of victims because the site is still considered too dangerous for search teams to enter, said Suchart Tongteng, a rescue worker with the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.

“At this moment, we still can’t say whether another collapse could happen,” he said, citing dangling steel plates. “That’s why there are no rescue personnel inside the scene, only teams conducting on-site safety assessments.”

At the site of Wednesday's train derailment, the search for survivors ended, Nakhon Ratchasima Gov. Anuphong Suksomnit said. Three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have gotten off the train earlier, but that was still being investigated.

Officials believed 171 people had been aboard the train’s three carriages, which were being removed from the scene Thursday.

The crane that fell, crushing part of the train, was a launching gantry crane, a mobile piece of equipment often used in building elevated roadways.

Police were still collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses and have not pressed charges, provincial Police Chief Narongsak Promta told reporters.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry reported a South Korean man in his late 30s, was among the dead.

The high-speed rail project where the accident occurred is associated with the plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers.

Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.

A statement posted on the website of the company, also known as Italthai, expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would pay compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.

Transport Minister Phiphat said Italthai was also the lead contractor on the highway project where Thursday's accident took place, though several other companies are also involved.

The rail accident had already sparked outrage because Italthai was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok that collapsed during construction last March during a major earthquake centered in Myanmar. The building's collapse was the worst quake damage in Thailand and about 100 people were killed.

Twenty-three individuals and companies have been indicted, including Italthai's president and the local director for the company China Railway No. 10, the project’s joint venture partner. The charges in the case include professional negligence and document forgery, and Thailand's Department of Special Investigation has recommended more indictments.

The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday the government was aware of the rail accident and had expressed condolences.

Associated Press writers Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.