Will Pucovski forced into early retirement from cricket due to recurring concussions - Reports 

Australia's prodigal batter, Will Pucovski, has been forced to take an early retirement due to the persistent issues he faced with concussions while playing. According to a report by Channel 9, the decision comes following the suggestion of an independent panel of experts.

Although medical experts have looked curiously at Pucovski's case in the past as he has suffered concussions on a regular basis, his most recent blow in March against a Riley Meredith bouncer turned out to be the final nail in the coffin.

He was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the helmet during Victoria's Sheffield Shield clash against Tasmania in Hobart. It marked the 12th time he suffered a concussion, a string of unfortunate incidents that range from the orthodox bouncers, to even being hit on the head in the apparent safe confines of home.

"My understanding is that an independent panel of experts recommended Pucovski retire three months ago, and all that’s left is for Cricket Victoria and his team to formalise that contractually,” Channel 9 reported.

“The news doesn’t come as a surprise to teammates of Pucovski who haven’t seen him at training all pre-season, in fact he’s been travelling overseas," the report continued.

Concussions at such a frequency are certainly abnormal to a degree, and a deep look into Pucovski's trend by a medical panel in 2022 suggested that the issue is likely to be 'stress or trauma responses' and not regulation concussions.

Pucovski has admitted considering retirement in the past due to the frustrating nature of his setbacks.

"Bloody close, very, very close (to giving it away). It'd gotten to the stage where I'd had discussions with people saying, 'yeah, I think this is it'. I was sort of comfortable that I'd given it everything," Pacovski said on the Vic State Cricket podcast earlier this year.

"I'd had a week to think about it and I hadn't changed my mind and, to a degree, being happier in every day life made me want to give it away more because I'm like, 'I've got too much to lose now.'"

Pucovski has also struggled with his mental health in the past, even taking a prolonged break from the game to cope.

---

Will Pucovski played one Test match for Australia in 2021

The 26-year-old, who has an average of 45.19 in Test cricket, would have certainly been in the conversation as a long-term replacement for David Warner since his retirement. However, he might have to remain content with the solitary Test appearance he made during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series against India in Sydney.

He scored a fifty in his maiden innings, scoring 62 runs off 110 deliveries before being trapped LBW by Navdeep Saini. Infact, he had sustained a concussion during the warm-up game preceding the series, when he was struck on the head by a Kartik Tyagi bouncer.