Cheteshwar Pujara made a career out of playing the kind of grinding innings that could single-handedly drain opposition teams of all stamina and momentum, setting up many of India’s most famous Test and series victories. Even in his youth cricket days, Pujara had the tenacity and ability to play such innings, that left opposing cricketers scratching their heads and in search of answers.
Former Indian Test captain and the recently-retired Rohit Sharma reflected on what it was like to face such a player as a young cricketer. Speaking at the launch of The Life of a Cricketer’s Wifea book written by Pujara’s wife Puja Pubari, Rohit said: “I still remember, team meetings only revolved around him (on) how to get him out, and if we don’t get him out, probably we’d lose the game.”
“All I remember is that when I used to go to the ground, when I was 14-years-old, and when I came back in the evening, the colour of my face would be completely different,” reflected Rohit. “Because he used to bat all day and we used to field in the sun for (even) 2-3 days.”
‘Mom, what do I do?’
In fact, said Rohit, it got to the point that his mother would begin to be concerned about his physical health after days spent fielding against Pujara. “I still remember that my mother asked me a couple of times that when you go to play from home, you look different and when you come home, after a week or 10 days, you look different.”
“I would say, ‘Mom, what do I do? There’s a batsman by the name of Cheteshwar Pujara. He’s been batting for three days’… so that is the first impression that we had of him,” said Pujara’s long-time teammate, who undoubtedly was happy to spend his career playing alongside the steadfast batter rather than against him.
Pujara continues to soldier away in Ranji Trophy cricket for Saurashtra, and hasn’t announced his international retirement, meaning he is still available for selection for the Indian Test team. Rohit, meanwhile, called a day on his career, bequeathing captaincy of the Test team to Shubman Gill and solely focusing on the ODI team at an international level.
