Timeline of Will Pucovski's unfortunate concussions until retirement

In a week filled with the term 'retirement', namely Dawid Malan and Shannon Gabriel, the news of the most unfortunate one hit the cricketing world with that of Australia's Will Pucovski. At only 26, Pucovski's career came to a premature end when he was forced to retire after a series of head injuries and several subsequent concussions.

He made the decision based on recommendations from a panel of medical experts, much to the dismay of Australian cricket. Pucovski was touted as one for the future, especially with David Warner's retirement from Tests earlier this year.

The right-handed batter played a lone Test for Australia against India in Sydney in the memorable 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy. Pucovski scored a defiant 62 on a tricky wicket against a versatile Indian bowling to set up Australia's total of 338 in the first innings.

He also boasted a brilliant first-class average of over 45 in 36 outings for Victoria, with several experts predicting big things for the youngster.

However, Pucovski was slowly making headlines more for his concussion injuries over match-winning performances and the fear of the worst came to fruition.

On that sad note, here is a deep dive into Will Pucovski's timeline with concussions culminating with his retirement.

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#1 Pre-Cricketing career

Will Pucovski suffered plenty even before the start of his domestic career [Credit: Getty]

While Will Pucovski's luck with head injuries and concussions during his cricketing career are well-documented, the hiccups started well before. Born in Malvern, a Melbourne suburb, Pucovski endured his first concussion at high school.

The now-26-year-old suffered a concussion during a high school football match. Pucovski completed his schooling at Brighton Grammar School in 2015, while also captaining the school's first XI in cricket.

His next blow to the head came during a cricket training session at the nets as a teenager. And if the mishaps involving sports weren't enough, Pucovski even banged his head on the door at home to suffer injury.

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#2 Early cricketing career (2017-18)

Cricket Australia XI v Pakistan - Source: Getty

Will Pucovski's concussion woes during his professional cricketing career on his first-class debut against New South Wales in February 2017. He took a blow on the field in that outing with the ball striking him on the head.

Batting at No.5, Pucovski scored a 71-ball 28 in the first innings but did not bat in the second innings due to this injury.

His next mishap came during the One Day Cup encounter against Queensland later that year (2017). Pucovski was struck on the helmet and scored a painstaking five off 17 deliveries as Victoria suffered an 11-run defeat.

A month later, the right-handed batter was again struck on the helmet in a Futures League outing against Tasmania.

The unfortunate trend continued for Pucovski with the batter concussed after being hit by a bouncer in the Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales in March 2018.

After scoring only a 28-ball 2 in the first innings, he was retired not out for 4 from 7 balls in the second innings. Pucovski even took a six-week break before this concussion to recover from previous occurrences and to look after his mental health.

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#3 Relief followed by more turbulences (2020-22)

CRICKET: JAN 09 Australia v India - Third Test - Source: Getty

Alas, there was relief for Will Pucovski after the March 2018 concussion until the end of 2019.

However, the turbulences returned in February 2020 when he fell on his head after the bat got stuck on the turf while running between the wickets. It happened in the first unofficial ODI with Pucovski playing for Cricket Australia XI against the England Lions.

He was leading the side and batting on 23 from 44 deliveries before retiring hurt and missing the subsequent England Lions games.

The misery did not stop there in 2020, with Pucovski suffering another concussion just before his Australia debut in the Australia A vs India A three-day game in December.

After scoring one off 23 balls in the first innings, Pucovski was struck by pacer Kartik Tyagi's bouncer when batting on 23 in the second innings, forcing him to retire hurt.

He similarly suffered once each in 2021 and 2022 despite parallely producing impressive domestic performances.

In October 2021, Pucovski was struck on the head during throwdowns, and in February of the following year, he was hit by a volleyball during warm-up.

The Victorian took an indefinite leave from cricket in October 2022 and has often expressed his mental health concerns.

"The concussion stuff is definitely linked but there's also a lot of talk about retirement in regarding concussions. The mental health has been a much bigger issue for me than even the concussions. I don't fear for my long-term health, it's more the mental health side that's been the tougher part," said Pucovski on a Vic State Cricket podcast in February 2024.

The 26-year-old returned to competitive cricket in January 2023 after a 3-4 month hiatus.

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# 4 Final nail in the coffin (2024)

Will Pucovski's concussion-wrecked career came to a shocking defeat [Credit: Getty]

After all the trials and tribulations, Pucovski's final nail in the coffin as far as his concussion history is concerned came at the start of this year. Just a month before his 26th birthday, he suffered another concussion in January this year while playing for Victoria's second XI against South Australia.

His final and most recent hit came in Victoria's Sheffield Shield game against Tasmania. Pucovski was struck by a fiery bouncer from pacer Riley Meredith, resulting in him quickly dropping his bat and falling to the ground.

He had scored 22 in the first innings but the second-ball hit in the second innings resulted in him retiring hurt in what turned out to be his final vigil in the sport.

Almost six months after his 13th and final concussion, Pucovski finally decided he had endured enough and walked away from professional cricket on medical grounds in one of the saddest endings in the sport.