Australian cricketer Will Pucovski, aged 27, announces retirement due to 'concussion'
Melbourne, Apr 8 (AP): Repeated concussions have taken such a toll on Will Pucovski's promising cricket career that he's decided he'll never play the game again.
Pucovski was a precocious talent when he was first selected for an Australia squad in 2019 but he only played one test match — scoring a flourishing 62 on debut against India in 2021 — because of a string of concussion setbacks.
After taking medical advice to retire from first-class cricket last year following a concussion — reportedly his 13th — in a Sheffield Shield match, the 27-year-old batter confirmed in a radio interview Tuesday that he can't play again at any level because of the toll on his physical and mental health.
“The simple message is, I won't be playing at any level again," Pucovski told the SEN network.
"In the couple of months post that (last concussion) I struggled to get anything done, walking around the house was a struggle ... I was sleeping a lot. The first few months were horrendous, but things didn't leave me.
“From there it's been a tough year, a lot of the symptoms didn't go away, which has led me to this decision."
Pucovski was one of the best batters in Australia but didn't make his test debut until he faced India at Sydney in January 2021, posting a half-century in his first innings but then dislocating his right shoulder in a fielding mishap. He needed surgery and was ruled out for six months.
After returning to training in October, 2021, he sustained another concussion while batting and was ruled out of cricket for several months again. Just over a year since his last concussion, the lingering impacts have forced him out of the game.
“When you have symptoms for over a year — and I've had others for numerous years — it can be quite difficult to see how can I get out to play professional sport again when I'm struggling to live my life how I want to," he said.
"The hard bit to come to terms with, to a degree as well, is I know what I was like before I suffered these concussions, and I know what I'm like now.
“My family have noticed a bit of a difference in me as well, and my friends, and that part is quite scary, and it's quite scary for them as well.”
He finished his career with a first-class average of 45.19, including seven centuries and a highest score of 255 not out, as well as the record for the highest opening partnership in Australia's domestic first-class competition, the Sheffield Shield.
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Nightclub fire: Goa court remands Luthra brothers in police custody for five days
Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.
The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.
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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.
“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.
A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.
The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.
After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.
The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.
Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.
After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.
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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.
