Puja Pujara writes a memoir about life as the wife of Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara

The idea of Puja penning down this book, aptly carrying the tag line of “A Very Unusual Memoir”, was proposed by her reticent partner a few days after the 2023 World Test Championship final that India lost to Australia. In the aftermath of the defeat, Cheteshwar, who was 35, had received an unpleasant call from the chief selector informing him that he was not in India’s plans moving forward. Even as the man from Rajkot, who combined a sturdy technique with copious patience to accumulate 7,195 runs in 103 Tests, took the conversation on the chin, Puja was seething with anger about her husband being hard done by. It was a feeling, as Puja writes in the book, that had festered in her for a long time.

A family picture from 2021
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

It even prompted Puja to broach the topic of retirement with Cheteshwar. His response, Puja mentions in the book, was calmness personified. “According to me, my body and mind, my reflexes are at their peak. I am at peace, whether I’m selected or not selected. I don’t think one game can define anyone’s form. Besides, I’m happy to play the game whenever or wherever I get the opportunity, because it is something I love,” he is quoted as saying in the 318-page offering.

Cheteshwar Pujara in action during 4th and final Test match between India and Australia in 2023
| Photo Credit:
VIJAY SONEJI

Almost two years have passed since Cheteshwar’s illustrious Test career came to a halt. Recounting it now, Puja, seated alongside her husband in a virtual interaction, said: “It was tough at the time. I have been very honest about my feelings. It hurt me a lot, and it took some amount of time to recover. But he just advised me that we cannot do anything about things that are not in our hands. Everybody wants that high. Every once in a while, I still feel a little disappointed.”

For the outside world, these players lead vastly luxurious lives: travelling around the world, staying in plush hotels and enjoying all the other perks that come with being an Indian cricketer. All of this may be accurate, but it should not subvert the sacrifices of their family members that aid them in reaching the pinnacle of their profession. Cheteshwar is hopeful that a book like this will evoke a bit more understanding and empathy among the fans about their lives.

“Definitely I think it will,” he said. “Every cricketer has their own journey. But at the same time when we are talking about privacy or the kind of sacrifices the family makes for a cricketer, that is most of the time common. I don’t think any player is successful without the family’s support.”

Puja Pujara (left) at an earlier match

For example, there is a passage in the book about Cheteshwar’s father, Arvind, suffering tachycardia — a condition where the heart beats faster than usual — at home in Rajkot at 2.30 am ahead of India’s second Test of a four-match series in Australia in 2018-19. With Puja not having travelled Down Under, she was able to rush her father-in-law to a hospital without keeping Cheteshwar in the loop about the incident. Even as doctors recommended a heart ablation procedure for the senior Pujara in Mumbai, she waited for that Test in Perth to finish before relaying the news to Cheteshwar. That he took it all in his stride with two Tests still left and guided India to a series win in Australia for the first time — he finished as the highest run-getter — are a testament to his character.

Over his 13-year Test career, Cheteshwar forged many significant partnerships with his teammates. By the end of the book, it is apparent that his enduring off-field partnership with Puja has been just as significant.

Priced at ₹425, the book is available on amazon.in