Cheteshwar Pujara contacted his mother Reena after winning a district-level match in 2006 to request that his father Arvind pick him up from the Rajkot bus station. Instead of seeing his father waiting for him at the bus stop, he was told by a family member that his mother had died.
Cheteshwar Pujara has an incredibly high pain threshold and unflinching will, despite suffering physical punches from Australia’s pacers and the heartbreaking death of his mother. The modest Indian cricket player has made his community proud as he nears his 100th Test, proving that even reserved introverts can triumph.
“100 games is no small achievement in any sport. You must be extremely committed and disciplined, fit, and follow a healthy diet. Your longevity in international cricket is aided by all of these taken together. And, yeah, some good fortune “During a telephone conversation from his Rajkot home, Arvind Pujara told the press.
Arvind, who is not only his son’s father but also his lone coach and confidant, takes enormous delight in his son’s accomplishments even though he doesn’t express it out loud. Cheteshwar, who is now 35, started playing cricket when his father, a former Saurashtra first-class player, saw potential in him at the age of eight and started mentoring him.
Arvind also sent his son to Mumbai to consult with famous coach Karsan Ghavri about whether he ought to invest more time in his son’s athletic development. The unassuming Railway Colony ground served as a witness to an important historical event when the answer was in the affirmative.
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“There was no specific goal in mind when I began (teaching Cheteshwar), and it would also be unfair to make assumptions. However, he did work really hard from the beginning, and he benefited from his discipline “Six first-class matches in the middle and end of the 1970s were played by Arvind bhai.
Cheteshwar’s mental toughness is frequently mentioned when talking about his prowess as a cricketer. Cheteshwar’s father Arvind was spoken to during the creation of a cricket book that featured a chapter on him. Arvind described how his son as a teenager had internalised the sadness of his mother’s dying and did not cry in either private or public settings. Instead, he just stopped talking.
He remained silent and never sobbed. I had to ask the team coach to keep a watch on him when he went to participate in an age-group game in Mumbai because I was concerned, said Pujara senior at the time. There was a hint of emotion in Arvind bhai’s voice when he was asked to think back on those occasions. It was a challenging time. No matter how hard you try, a mother is impossible to replace, according to Pujara’s senior. Cheteshwar did, however, possess a spiritual side when he was younger, which is likely what contributed to his steely resolve.
“He received a lot of care from my late wife’s Guruji, Haracharan Das ji Maharaj. My son was also cared for by his aunt, who also resided in that ashram and cooked meals for Guruji. I won’t say that I alone played a significant role in developing him; his Guruji was extremely important to the formation and growth of his mind “He spoke with a tone of deep appreciation.
With the help of the current treatments, physical pain can be tolerated to some extent, but what about the silent heartaches for which there is no cure? One can tell whether someone is in bodily agony, but how can one recognise mental turmoil? “Body ka pain toh dikhta hain, lekin andruni chot, dil ka chot dikhta nahi” stated Arvind bhai. But then he shared a truth about how his son’s ability to endure pain grew with time. When Cheteshwar was just starting out, a doctor friend of mine gave him the following piece of advice: “Don’t take painkillers when you are hurt.” Painkillers don’t speed up the body’s healing process, which takes time. During that Test in Australia, you saw him absorb those 11 strikes to the ribs, knuckles, and forearm “As one could see his heart fluttering with pride, Arvind spoke.
How did he manage his agony, though? Another heartwarming tale from his son’s childhood was told by Arvind bhai. “He was addicted to video games as a child and would always want to play. Then his mother would maintain a condition. She would promise Cheteshwar, “If you pray for 10 minutes, then I will let you play video games.”
“As a father, I didn’t like that approach since I saw it as a form of “blackmail.” I even got into disputes with my wife about how she should just say “yes” if she wants to let him play video games and “no” if she doesn’t. She didn’t tell me anything at first. But a few days later, she gave an explanation for her actions. I desire for our son to believe in God. When he is an adult and faces a challenging situation, if he prays every day for even 10 minutes, the prayer will assist him. There is no university in the world that can educate you (that) other than your mother, yet Cheteshwar became spiritual as a result of his habit.”
In Test cricket, Cheteshwar has recorded three double hundreds, and at the first-class level, many triple hundreds. The Indian Premier League didn’t exist when his father first taught him how to play cricket in the late 1990s. Therefore, it is a credit to the hours he spent honing his core skills on the little Rajkot field that you see him calmly execute a step-out shot against Nathan Lyon and drive the ball to the left or right of the mid-on fielder, expertly slicing through the grass.
“There was no IPL when I first began instructing him in the fundamentals of cricket. He once scored a triple hundred at the age of 13 in a BCCI U-14 event. I informed him that the 1950s and 1960s were worthless. Score hundreds and double hundreds if you want to get noticed “Pujara senior stated.
What is his favourite among Cheteshwar’s 19 Test hundreds?
“Each hundred had a unique setting, a unique backstory, and a unique requirement for the team. Thus, it is difficult to say. Did he carry out the duties assigned to him by the group? If he did, it is valid. That also had a great deal of importance for me when he created his account after 53 dots in South Africa. It was what the circumstances required.”
No one is more deserving of this experience than Arvind, who will be present at the Ferozshah Kotla on Friday with Cheteshwar’s wife Puja and daughter Aditi to witness the historic event.
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