Will Pucovski: Cricketer forced to retire aged 26 due to concussion

Professional cricketer Will Pucovski has been forced into retirement following a series of issues with concussions at the relatively young age of 26.

While he made the decision to end his career a few months ago, the call has now been made official by Cricket Victoria. Once considered to be one of Australia’s most promising young cricket players, his career has now come to a premature conclusion. Not only were the concussions affecting his performances, he also spoke on how they had an adverse effect on his mental health.

Speaking on the Vic State Cricket Podcast, Pucovski said: “I sort of link the mental health stuff back to my first concussion which was when I was about 15 or 16. I have a lot of concussion symptoms that over a seven or eight-year period actually never subsided.”

Meanwhile, 9news reporter Tom Morris said [via Mail Online]: “'As a batter he flourished at a young age, making back-to-back double tons for Victoria. This confirmation is not just sad for him and Victorian cricket, but also Australian cricket.”

A right handed batter, Pucovski accumulated a respectable batting average of 36.00 in test matches - in first-class cricket, his average was 45.19, while List A matches saw him pick up a batting average of 27.75.

He played exclusively for Victoria at club level, making his debut in 2017 at the Under 19 National Championships. During this tournament, he was named Player of the Championship and scored 650 runs from eight innings. It was around this time, however, that his issues with concussions began to surface - by 2018, he had already suffered two major concussions while on the field of play.

On the international stage, Pucovski represented his native Australia. He only played in one international test game, against India in 2021. He was the 460th player to be called up to the Australia national cricket team.