Twitter
Advertisement

Cheteshwar’s religious faith is his strength, says father

For the past few years, the Saurashtra runmaker's career has been disrupted by freak injuries, but he has always made big comebacks.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

For a sportsperson, mental toughness is imperative, especially when he is making a comeback after a long lay-off caused by injury. For the past few years, Cheteshwar Pujara’s cricketing career has been disrupted by freak injuries. But the Saurashtra run-machine has always recovered and made a big comeback.

Cheteshwar’s father, Arvind Pujara, was himself a first class cricketer. He says the credit for Cheteshwar’s mental toughness and power of recovery goes to his late mother.

“When a cricketer returns to the game after a surgery, it is like starting from zero. So it isn’t easy. But Cheteshwar has always made it look easy because of his late mother who taught him the importance of religious faith. His mother instilled in him deep religious faith which has been a constant source of strength to him. He follows all her teachings dutifully. This helps him handle the pressure with ease,” said Pujara senior.

He added that if there are flaws in his son’s batting, he can rectify them but he cannot do anything about the pressure.

In 2009, just before the IPL in South Africa, Pujara (who was then a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders team) collided into captain Sourav Ganguly during a practice match. The accident had then ended his stint. 

However, drawing on his religious faith, Cheteshwar overcame his negative thoughts to emerge one of the top scorers in the domestic season of 2009-10, said Arvind Pujara. This got him a ticket to the India team but ligament injury in early 2011 again sidelined him for months, he added.

According to his close friends and relatives, Cheteshwar was very close to his mother. Before her death, the budding cricketer used to discuss the game with here after every match. This enhanced his mental strength and composure. Such conversations spread over six long years have shaped today’s Cheteshwar. He follows a strict routine and rarely goes out for parties, says his father.

His time management is also very inspiring. Following his mother’s teachings, Cheteshwar does yoga and mediates and prays regularly.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement