Will Pucovski seeking legal advice for fair compensation from Cricket Australia ahead of official retirement - Reports
Australian cricketer Will Pucovski has reportedly hired a legal team to draw out his exit strategy from the game after early retirement due to recurring concussions being imminent now. An independent panel of medical experts has recommended retirement as the practical step, especially after his most recent blow during a Sheffield Shield contest against a bouncer from Riley Meredith.
According to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald, Pucovski's lawyers have been in touch with Cricket Victoria to discuss the nature of his retirement and the compensation he may be entitled to. The matter also involves higher governing bodies like Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketer's Association.
In Australian football and rugby, there are provisions for concussion compensation because of how prevalent it is in highly-physical sports. However, with cricket still in the nascent stages when it comes to concussion awareness and the potential on and off-field measures to combat it, there is not much on paper legally.
'Losses of future earnings' have been a key factor in the few concussion-related instances in cricket. Although recent reports have suggested that Pucovski has made up his mind about retirement, there is nothing official yet. This is primarily because he still needs to secure his future before any rash announcement.
Again, legally, Victoria Cricket might only be liable to pay out the remainder of Will Pucovski's one-year contract if he announces his retirement without any prior discussions.
"You feel like he’s been cut short by a decade,” one sourceotold the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Will has all the information to make a decision," Cricket Victoria said in a statement.
The 26-year-old suffered his most recent concussion in March 2024 and has not played competitive cricket since.
Will Pucovski has played one Test for Australia
Will Pucovski was destined for great things from the formative stages of his career. The opening batter made a strong impression with his exploits in the domestic circuit and was regarded as the next opener for the Men in Yellow.
Even before that, when Australia were struggling to find the right partner for David Warner at the top, Pucovski earned an opportunity. He played his maiden Test during the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series against India in Sydney but could not make another appearance despite scoring a fifty in his first-ever international outing.
He will seemingly end his career with 36 first-class appearances, with 2350 runs at an average of 45.19.