Latest news with #TheDiaryOfACricketer'sWife:AVeryUnusualMemoir
NDTV
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
"Girlfriend Nahi Thi, All Focus Was On...": Cheteshwar Pujara Narrates Tale On Meeting Wife Puja
Cheteshwar Pujara has been a very dedicated servant of Indian cricket. His rock solid approach, especially against Australia, will got down as some of the finest knocks Down Under. Recently, Cheteshwar Pujara's wife Puja, made some staggering revelations in her book "The Diary Of A Cricketer's Wife: A Very Unusual Memoir", narrating her husband's journey in becoming one of the most reliable Test batters the nation has produced. Over the last couple of years, Pujara has seen his stocks go down as he has not been selected in the Indian cricket team. Off the field, Pujara, on he sideline of promoting his wife's book, revealed how they met. "Meri koi girlfriend nahin thi. Pura focus cricket pe tha aur jab family ne baat ye propose kari ki this is the right age for you to get married toh tabhi maine decide kiya ki I will start meeting the suitable person. Jab pehli hamari mulakat hui, tabhi hum log ki jaise baat shuru hui, aap person ko janne aur samajhne lagte hai. You cant call it love at first sight but you get along with the person. (I did not have any girlfriend. My entire focus was on cricket and when my family told me that it is the right age for me to get married then I decided that I will start meeting the suitable person. When we first met, as we started talking, you get to know and understand the person. You cant call it love at first sight but you get along with the person)," he said on Vimal Kumar 's YouTube channel. "Aap ek dedh ghanta kisi ke saath baat karte hai toh aapko samajh mai aa jata hai ki inke saath aap aage bhi baat karna pasand karenge. She was also very sure that she wanted to have a word with me. Ekdum typical arranged marriage nahi tha. Humne ek dedh mahina ek dusre se baat kari phone pe hum touch mai the. Mai travel kar raha tha. Ek dusre ko janne ki koshish kari aur uske baad humne decide kiya ki she is the right person. (When you talk for an hour or hour and a half with the person you understand that you would like to talk to them further. She was also very sure that she wanted to have a word with me. It was not a typical arranged marriage. We spoke to each other for a month and a half and were on touch over phone. I was travelling. We tried to know each other and then we decided that she is the right person)," he added. Cheteshwar Pujara has opened up on Sarfaraz Khan 's snub from India's Test squad for the upcoming series against England. Sarfaraz didn't find a place in India's 18-man squad that was announced on Saturday, ahead of a five-match series starting June 20. "The reason he is not in the squad, I feel, is he has been very successful in the Asian conditions or in India. The management feels that he may not be as successful in Australia or in England. And there were some fitness issues in the past. I don't know about his current fitness. But he has been working hard on his fitness also. So, at this stage, I feel it's a bit unfortunate. But at the same time, someone like Karun Nair, who has performed really well in domestic cricket, deserved an opportunity," Pujara told Hindustan Times.
Hindustan Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Cheteshwar Pujara breaks silence on person who nearly got him dropped in Australia: ‘His name isn't in the book'
Cheteshwar Pujara has spoken again about the emotional turmoil he faced during India's historic 2018/19 Test series win in Australia, a moment that was detailed by his wife Puja in her book The Diary Of A Cricketer's Wife: A Very Unusual Memoir. Speaking about the book, the couple revealed the intention behind revealing the phone call incident where Pujara accidentally overheard a conversation suggesting he could be dropped from the side. Puja said the goal was never to create controversy but to show the kind of composure Pujara maintained in that moment. 'The idea to write that incident was not to describe it. The idea was how he kept his calm and didn't get affected, showed courage and resilience,' she said. 'The one intention wasn't to malign anyone… The intention was to inspire everybody.' When asked whether the person mentioned in the book knew about it, Puja added, 'I don't think anyone knows. The purpose is just a 2-line thing and not what has been highlighted.' Pujara, too, stressed that the episode was never meant to name or shame anyone. 'The person's name is not there in the book for a reason. If we wanted to expose someone… I don't want to dwell too much into it, yes I was disappointed about what was said,' he said. 'But at the same time, you move on, you look at the bigger picture. When you are representing the country, your job is to win matches for the Indian team.' In the book, Puja revealed that Pujara didn't speak about the incident until his birthday after the tour was over. While reading out birthday messages, Puja recalled the cricketer going silent after a certain message was read out, and after being pressed upon, Pujara replied, ''This guy you're praising wanted me to be dropped from the team because of fitness issues.'' During the tour, Pujara produced an impressive performance in the Melbourne Test; however, at the same time, his father was also undergoing heart surgery in Mumbai. "The next morning, I was up at 3.30 a.m. to inform Cheteshwar that the procedure had been a success. I tried to speak to him in hushed tones, but this ploy was a failure. 'Go get a double hundred,' I whispered. Cheteshwar did not get a double ton. He got out caught and bowled by Nathan Lyon for 193 … I was a wee bit disappointed, but perked up when my father-in- law remarked: 'This is even bigger than a double century. He has done well for his country and the team.' Coming from a man who was difficult to please, this was a huge compliment!," she wrote.
NDTV
25-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
"If We Wanted To Expose Someone...": Cheteshwar Pujara On Australia Tour 'Phone Call Leak' To NDTV
Cheteshwar Pujara 's wife Puja, made some staggering revelations in her book "The Diary Of A Cricketer's Wife: A Very Unusual Memoir", narrating her husband's journey in becoming one of the most reliable Test batters the nation has produced. While Pujara did become the new Mr. Dependable for the team in the whites, the past couple of years saw his career graph go down, with the team looking at younger alternatives. However, one can still not forget the performances he produced in Australia, especially during the 2018-19 tour, which saw India secure a first-ever Test series win Down Under. However, on that series, there were also talks of Pujara being dropped from the team. While the batter wasn't supposed to know about this conversation, he overheard a talk on the phone, and was understandably shaken. Pujara's wife had to work hard to draw this revelation from the cricketer, and she also wrote about it in her book. However, the couple decided against naming the person who had wanted Pujara to be dropped from the team, ensuring no controversy is created. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, both Pujara and his wife opened up about this particular excerpt from the book that made headlines. "The idea to write that incident was not to describe it. The idea was how he kept his calm and didn't get affected, showed courage and resilience. The one intention wasn't to malign anyone, that is not the intention. The intention was to inspire everybody," Pujara's wife said. "I don't think he knows about it," Pujara's said when asked if the person being described in the incident knows about it being written in the book. Puja also intervened and said: "I don't think anyone knows. The purpose is just a 2-line thing and not what has been highlighted." Pujara then explained that the intention behind writing the episode wasn't to expose anyone, hence, the name of the person wasn't mentioned in the book. "The person's name is not there in the book for a reason. If we wanted to expose someone... I don't want to dwell too much into it, yes I was disappointed about what was said. But, at the same time, you move on, you look at the bigger picture. When you are representing the country, your job is to win matches for the Indian team. I had a job at hand. That was our first every victory on Australian soil. When I was playing Melbourne Test match, my focus was how can I contribute to the team's success. I was in good form. There was a bit of a niggle. I ended up scoring a hundred and the team won that match. Everything settled down. My thought process was to create history with Team India," he said. "There were a lot of things at stake, my father wasn't well. There were a lot of thoughts when I was going to play the Sydney Test but at the same time, but I knew Puja was looking after my father. So, I was relieved," Pujara asserted. Listen to the latest songs, only on
