In the modern all-out-attack game, Cheteshwar Pujara is a throwback to the days when blocking your way to stumps was a prized quality in a batter. His hang-in-there-at-all-costs spirit has been vital to India's most famous series wins: in Australia in 2018-19 and in 2020-21. In this interview with him and his wife, Puja, the couple talk about the demands on a player's family, Puja's book about the experience of being a cricketer's wife, and the 2021 Brisbane Test in which Pujara persevered despite a broken finger and bruises from bouncers to help India to a historic win.

Cheteshwar, what was your first reaction to reading the book?
Cheteshwar Pujara: I was nervous. I actually didn't know what she had written, because I told her that whatever you want to put out there, please feel free. You don't need to hide anything. She has been journalling since 2013, and when she started writing this [book], I told her, you write whatever you want, once the book is finished, I'll go through it.

When I started reading it, I was very nervous, but it was a very special moment for me. The way she has described everything in the book, starting from our courtship, the way things begin from 2012 onwards - I've read it twice and it feels like I can keep on reading this again and again. This is very special to me, very close to my heart, because the things she has described mean a lot to me.

I guess it would have been quite intimidating at first, opening up your life to the public. It's something I have experienced in my own way as a child of a cricketer. We are taught to keep things private. So to disclose your story together to fans would be intimidating, right?
Puja Pujara: Yeah, we both have very private lives and we tend to keep everything to ourselves, but his journey, like growing up and even the courtship, was so inspiring for me that I felt the story needs to be told. No matter if you are a sportsperson's spouse, partner, a child, or anyone, everyone can relate to the story. You have a lot of life lessons there and I felt it would just help a lot of people.

Play 02:55

Pujara: 'I knew that if I could handle the body blows, India's time would come'

I want to know how you guys first met, how the courtship worked and everything in between.
Puja: I didn't know who Cheteshwar was, and it's an arranged marriage we had, right? So I had a whole theory in my head that he's not interested, maybe [his] parents are wanting to get him married. So I didn't end up meeting him first. I met my father-in-law [former first-class cricketer Arvind Pujara] first because he [Cheteshwar] was travelling for matches. I had a whole theory that it's just his family putting pressure, so let me get [the meeting] done with and my parents will stop being behind [me].

When we met, the theory toppled over. From the very first moment that we met, the conversations we had, it was so candid, honest, and at the same time like we were like just two good friends. It was so spontaneous. That's where everything begun.

Love at first sight?
Puja: No, not really, but at the same time, no assumptions, no agenda.

When you're seeking a partner through an arranged marriage, there seems to be some sort of checklist that you have. Luckily for both of us, there was nothing like that, so that really helped.

Cheteshwar: The most important part for me was she didn't know anything about who I was. I didn't want to marry a person because she likes me as a cricketer. Because she didn't have any cricketing background and she didn't know what I was - I mean, she only knew that I was playing for the country, but apart from that, she didn't have any cricketing knowledge - that was the biggest positive for me, because I wanted to marry a person for who she is rather than the fame I have.

As Puja mentioned, when we met, it felt like we have the same wavelength. Like I was talking to a friend. And the conversation went on for about an hour, hour and a half. After that, we decided we want to know each other a bit more. Then we spoke for about a month, month and a half, and that's when we decided that we get along really well and she's the one for me.

Pujara was India's top scorer in the home series against England in 2012-13, making 438 runs at 87.7 with two hundreds, including a double in Ahmedabad with Puja in attendance Gareth Copley / © Getty Images

What was it like when you first had your taste in the spotlight? I guess you would have not experienced anything like that, and obviously with that comes a lot of scrutiny. How did you deal with that? Was it something you had to go through together, or were you on your own because you need to support your partner when they have a certain job to do? But you would have these big feelings as well of: what is this world?
Puja: Yeah, so we got engaged and the next day it was just out everywhere in the newspapers. For me, it was very awkward, in the sense that I was not prepared for it. I thought: it's just an engagement, why would it be out everywhere? But the good thing is, he was around and he's like, that's okay, you just enjoy it.

We were spending a lot of time together and we were just happy in our own bubble, so it was not very intimidating just after we got engaged. But there was a Test series against England [soon after, in 2012].

I didn't understand the game. I was just clapping happily and smiling away. The good thing is, he ended up scoring a double-century [in the first Test, in Ahmedabad]. I was just happy and clapping around. So yeah, I think it worked out in a good way.

You would have seen him score the hundred first and that big applause and then you see it for the second time round - lifting the bat and taking the helmet off and that whole ordeal. So you got it twice in the first game you attended as an engaged couple!
Puja: It was three times [actually], because at the end of the [first] day, his score was 98. We had planned to only come for that particular day of the Test, and then we ended up staying another day.

Cheteshwar: She didn't know anything about cricket, so she had to [get to] know that I'm a good player, because when we got engaged, her cricketing knowledge wasn't up to the mark.

Play 01:09

Puja Pujara: 'He said I think I have a hairline fracture, but I'm not going to go for scans'

Puja: Hello? I didn't know anything! "Not up to the mark."

Cheteshwar: As I said, I didn't want my partner to know a lot about the game. I didn't want her to advise me on the game.

Did you have to sit her down and go, okay, these are the rules?
Cheteshwar: She will be able to tell a bit more [about that]. But yeah, from the time we got engaged and from the time we started travelling together, I told her: these are my times, these are the disciplines I need to stick to. If we are playing a Test match, I need to go to bed by half-past nine, ten o'clock. And she's a night person.

When we got engaged, she used to go to bed by one o'clock, sometimes 12. And that wasn't acceptable for me. She didn't disturb me.

The good part is, she supported me. She knew what was expected at the highest level. That's the time when she started getting to know a cricketer's life, the kind of discipline required, especially when you're playing the Test format, where the game starts early in the morning, you have to wake up early, you have to go to the ground early in the morning.

And when I used to go to the ground, I never used to wake her up, because she used to wake up somewhere around 9-9.30am.

And now it's the other way around, because I'm doing some media work and staying up at night and she goes to bed early. But yeah, she can tell you a bit more [about that time].

Puja and daughter Aditi at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Puja says after their daughter was born, she had to be selective about what tours she could go on

Puja: So I got to know a lot about living a very disciplined life. We were pretty young when we got married. We were just in our 20s. I did not know anything about workouts and eating clean. Along the journey, I started getting to know about a lot of aspects of the game. And he told me on the very first tour: "I'm here to play. It's my job. I'm here on a job. You can do whatever you want. You want to enjoy, you want to come to the match, you want to explore the city - you can do whatever you want, but I'm here on a job and that is to represent the country, so I have to have 100% focus. My attention has to be there." So we would just get to grab a quiet dinner together.

And because it's a five-day match, you have to come back and recover for the next day. Some days it will be a good day, some will be bad. And you have to learn how to reset. Dad opened the batting, so if he had a bad day, everyone would know about it! How was it with Cheteshwar when he would have those bad days? What was your go-to in your relationship of forgetting about it, moving on?
Puja: On most days he would want silence. And I had some disappointments as well, in the sense that you feel bad, right? When things are not going [well] for the team or for your partner on the field.

So just before the end of the day, I had to get myself together, let go of my emotions. I just wanted him to get a good version of me, in the sense that if he needs to talk, he will, if he needs his quiet, I give him his quiet. Whatever is the need of the hour, I'm here to support you when I'm with you. And when I'm not travelling, I would just drop a message: I'm here if you need to, but if not, I'm here as well.

So I think as a partner, my job was just to make him unwind, just have a nice meal, talk about everything other than the game, because anyway, you are going to be doing that the next day and the next day. On most days, it was quiet and just a good distraction, [talking] about something that is maybe a hobby, just life.

Play 00:27

'I'll think about retirement a little later'

How did the dynamic change when your daughter came into the picture?
Cheteshwar: For me, that was the best part of our life. Although I would say it was a bit more challenging for Puja, because I wasn't around all the time and she couldn't travel all the time, but whenever she could, we used to have a great time. But at the same time, I never wanted a sleepless night while I was playing. I told her that we'll have separate rooms when we are travelling.

Puja: Travelling, for me, became a little bit challenging. I had to pick my tours. I was all on my own. He would be like: I really need to focus on the series here. If you can tag along, fair enough, if not, then you can stay back at home. It is challenging to raise a child, especially [as] he was at the peak of his career when our daughter was born. It's just back-to-back matches, back-to-back series.

But it was all worth it because you're going there to represent your country. And I know when he's back home, he's going to be there 100%. No questions asked. Like, you want me to do the drop-off? I'll do it. You want me to do the diaper change? Whatever you need.

Cheteshwar: For me, after 2018, when Aditi was born, [then] there was Covid [and the pandemic-induced lockdowns] and most of us were at home. We didn't play a lot of cricket at the time. That was the time I spent quality time with Aditi and Puja. It was a kind of blessing for us to be away from the game for a bit. I know it was quite a challenge all around the world and I shouldn't be using this word "blessing", but in a way it was, because being a professional cricketer, you're travelling throughout the year. And if you are at home for, say, three to four months, and you get to spend quality time with the family, that definitely helps.

Puja: [Aditi had] just started learning to talk. She was picking up a lot of things. We had a great time together.

Puja's first experience of dealing with the downs of an international cricketer's life came in 2014, a year in which India won only one out of ten Tests and Pujara averaged 24 in them Glyn Kirk / © AFP/Getty Images

Highs and lows are a big part of any sport. How did you manage to work through that as a unit?
Puja: When I got into his life, there were a lot of highs. It was only in 2014 when we travelled to England and New Zealand when I first experienced the lows - for him, through him, and the team. And there was a lot of public scrutiny.

But at that stage we had already spent a lot of time together. The relationship was so strong by then that I knew that, okay, this is a phase and it will go as well. You just have to put your head down, do the things you're supposed to do. And by you, I mean me as well - just be there for him in the way he needs me to be there for him, rather than the way I want to be there for him.

We had this understanding wherein he had educated me a little bit on how things work. You've just got to keep calm and ride the wave, because you will have good days ahead too.

Cheteshwar: And just to add on, I felt that was the time where I needed her support the most. And she was very supportive. I do remember that after 2014, the Indian team was going through a transformation. There was a lot of importance given to fitness. She did a course in nutrition, helped me with my diet. After that, whenever I had to train, she did motivate me: that these are the things you should do to get better in your fitness. And even apart from that, when you are failing, you're failing as a family. That's how she looked at it.

And she felt that even when I'm failing, the way to come back is to work hard on the game, to still follow the same process, not to get bogged down by whatever is being said. That when you are failing, that's the time when you need a lot of positive talk. That's when she started telling me positive things. Like, you have played this game, you know this game, if you can deal with your failures and come out positively, then you will eventually be successful. It wasn't the technical aspects but the mental aspect of the game [she helped me with].

Or there are times when you are just worrying about what is being said about you. And she told me that you don't need to worry about that. We are there to support you totally.

Sometimes your family are genuinely the only thing that will be able to get you through. Having that together is so beautiful. I want to talk about India's 2018-19 tour to Australia How did you navigate that?
Puja: I did not travel on that tour because our child was just about ten months old and she was in that crawling-walking phase.

And unluckily, just before the second match, Cheteshwar's dad had to get an ablation procedure done. And that was a very, very crucial time, because I couldn't bother him. He had a lot on his plate, it was a very important series. India had started off really well as a team and were looking to win the series. I had to wait for at least another ten days or so to break the news to him.

I left my daughter behind with my parents. Cheteshwar was in Sydney. Me and my father-in-law travelled to Bombay to get the procedure done. And when we were getting on the plane, he had come in to bat.

I had to put the phone on flight mode and, for the entire flight, we both [Puja and Arvind] were anxious for multiple reasons. There's a medical procedure to be done, he's batting, the series win, so many things in our head. Luckily, when we got down to Bombay, he was still batting. And when we reached the hospital, he was nearing a century.

But it was a very crucial phase of our lives. Both of us had to really step up. He had a minor niggle during the second Test - a hamstring niggle.

Cheteshwar: It was one of the best series I've been part of. Although there were multiple problems at home, she handled it really well. I didn't know anything about my father's health. I only got to know on the second day of the Sydney Test.

The couple enjoy a holiday in Bhutan, 2024

There was a lot to process for me, being away from home. And there were times you start getting thoughts that: Do I have to be home? Do I need to travel back? But she assured me that she was in charge. She knew what she was doing. She was in touch with the doctors. I could focus [on my game]. I mean, even if I was there, I couldn't have done anything more.

Then you have to go out and bat another time. Was that on your mind when you were playing out that innings?
Cheteshwar: Yeah, it was, but at the same time, I knew that the best thing I could have done at that time was to - when you are representing the country and such a big series is on the line - try and focus on what is at hand. Because if you keep thinking about [his father's health] while you are batting, then you are not going to do justice to the game. And just by thinking [about him], my father is not going to get better. I knew Puja was around, so that was a big relief for me.

I just tried being in the present, tried focusing on the game. And when I was batting, I was just batting. I had to completely switch off my thoughts. The moment I start thinking, I start getting worried. So I told myself that the only time I'll think about my dad is at the end of the day's play. The moment the day was over, I was looking for my phone.

There was also another time where you overheard that you were potentially going to be dropped, in Perth. In the book, it was mentioned that you didn't tell Puja about it to protect her. What was it like to withhold that sort of information?
Cheteshwar: For me, at that time, [the focus] was to get fit as soon as possible, try and focus on the next game. Because I knew I was batting well. The first Test went really well. India won the match. It was the second Test where I was struggling a bit, injury-wise. There was enough time between the second and the third Tests to work on my fitness. I was spending a lot of time in the physio room.

Pujara on his way to one of his three hundreds during India's historic 2-1 win in Australia in 2018-19. He was the top scorer of the series, with 521 runs at 74.4 Michael Dodge / © Getty Images

And I didn't tell much about that incident to Puja. I didn't even step out to get food. All three days, I was just within my room, within the physio's room. I tried resting as much as possible, doing my rehab. I knew that once I'm fit, things will turn around. I knew that the series was on the line and I had an important role to play. Luckily, I was part of the playing XI [in Melbourne]. I performed well. That is something that matters.

I don't pay too much attention to what is being said, because you have enough of a support system. And there are times when people will have different opinions about you as a player, as a person. The moment you start paying too much attention on what has happened, it doesn't help. You always have to look at the bigger picture when you are representing the Indian team. Everyone's goal is to win a series in Australia. And, for us at that time, it was a big moment because India had never won a series in Australia and that was the first-ever opportunity. I just tried focusing on that rather than worrying about anything else.

The 2020-21 tour of Australia was played in a Covid bubble. And that was the series in which Cheteshwar took some blows. How did you react to seeing your husband take those blows?
Puja: So I had to leave [Australia to return to India] because my sister was getting married. Just before the start of the second practice game, [when] we were leaving for India, I told him it wouldn't be the same as last time [2018-19, when Pujara was the leading run-scorer].

[I said], I don't think they will allow you to score that freely because they've really, really studied your game, but just survive and I think the rest will be taken care of. And because I was leaving that day, I just got a nod [from him] rather than a stare or maybe a lecture [for giving him cricketing advice].

Come the first Test, India were 36 all out and lost badly. It was everywhere in the news that India are going to lose. After that, India won the Melbourne Test.

Pujara and his wife with the Ranji Trophy in March 2020, the first time ever Saurashtra won the first-class title © Cheteshwar Pujara

And all the time, his focus was on, you know, I want to do well. The conversations he was having with me were: there are a lot of injuries happening [in the team] and I want to really contribute. There was a lot of hunger [in him]. It was the first time in his life that he'd not played for six, seven months, eight months at a stretch. It had never been like that since he was maybe seven-eight years old. He had never stopped playing cricket for all that while.

After the Melbourne game, he ended up getting injured on the index finger. And I remember he told me, I think I have a hairline fracture here, but I'm not going to go for the scans. And I was like, why would you do that? That gives me more nervousness [knowing] you're injured.

And he's like, no, the team is having a lot of injuries and I cannot afford to get injured. I was like, it's not something you can control. Because he had not fared relatively well in the first two Tests, he was like, now I'm getting my rhythm back and I'm really raring to go.

The Sydney Test was such an interesting draw. He had particularly done well [batting for over nine hours across two innings for 50 and 77].

And the body blows had started coming. It was not as much as it was in Brisbane, but yeah, it was like a trailer for what's to come. And it was so, so scary, because I was having really long days because of the wedding prep at home. I would wake up at four to watch the match and then go help my family.

And so it was very, very anxious trying to get by one day at a time. But the good thing was, as a team, they were so motivated. They were so [on] fire, all pumped up - we will win because we have been written off. So you know, from here, you only have a ladder to climb.

The story of our life: Puja's memoir was published in May 2025 © Cheteshwar Pujara

It was a very interesting time. And then comes Brisbane and, oh my goodness, I was sweating and shivering at the same time. I just put Aditi on the cot and put a pile of toys [in front of her] and I was like: play. I was just watching the Test. It was too much, too many emotions, too much nervousness.

But the good thing is, they played so well. And even though he had the body blows, the calmness on his face and his demeanour was like: I will fight you. I'm not going to back down.

And it gave me so much pride and gratitude because these are the days [that you won't forget], the Gabba Test match is remembered. It's just [one] for the books. And him playing such an important role, it gave me a lot of pride. But I was like, how is he going to recover from these injuries?

Cheteshwar: For me, it felt like I didn't have enough time to prepare before the series. I did prepare, but it was limited because of Covid. The moment we got into the first Test, I felt I was batting well, but the rhythm wasn't there. I needed some more time.

Things were going very quickly, but everyone within the team was very confident that we can make a comeback after losing the first Test. And that's what happened. We made a comeback in the second Test. So things were going strongly for the team, but for me, personally, things were not going as per expectations. Puja did warn me, and I didn't take it very seriously.

I remember there was an incident. Was it during the same series when Justin Langer [then Australia's coach] ended up…?

Puja: Yeah, we were in the elevator and Justin Langer said, "Oh, you're Pujara's family. And I was like, yeah. And he said, "This time he's not going to get the better of us." And I was like, uh, okay. It was just an elevator conversation and he gave me that smile. Then I was like, I have to give my two words [to Cheteshwar].

No respite: Pujara batted through part of the 2020-21 tour of Australia with a broken finger and at one point in the series decider in Brisbane, he could barely hold the bat after getting hit again on the fractured digit Tertius Pickard / © Associated Press

Cheteshwar: That's why she ended up advising me. But coming back to the second Test, when I had some injury in my index finger. I felt that even if I had a hairline fracture, there's nothing I can do about it. The only thing I can do is to protect my finger and carry on playing, because even if there was a fracture, I didn't have the room to miss out on an important series. Only the captain and the physio knew about my injury.

Puja: And just to let you know, it was actually broken. There was a hairline [crack]. After the series, he comes home and says, let's go get it examined. By that time it was almost healed!

Cheteshwar: And she can write in the book that I had a fracture.

What about when you were getting hit? It was like you were in a meditative state. Can you describe that moment?
Cheteshwar: Well, it was a state of mind where you're not worrying about what's happening around you. There were a lot of body blows, but I was aware that the series was on the line. And I knew that if I can handle those body blows, at least for the first and second sessions, then our time will come.

I had to not think about the blows and then just try and be in the present, just try and face each ball. But that was a tricky pitch. The blows were because of the pitch. I felt if I was playing on another surface, I could have left a few balls, but that was a pitch where, from back of a length, the balls were rising a bit more. I couldn't judge the bounce of that pitch. And it was the fifth day. I knew that the conditions will improve once the ball gets a little older. My strategy was to not try and play those balls because those were the rising deliveries. If you end up playing those balls, you will get out.

You might nick one, an odd ball can hit your gloves and you can get caught somewhere. So I was sure that I didn't want to play those deliveries. And my strategy was very simple: I'll take it on my body and there'll be a time where I'll be able to attack and play my natural game.

Pujara with his father, Arvind, and Puja and Aditi at his 100th Test, in Delhi, 2023 © BCCI

I'll just have to survive in those moments, try and deal with it. Until the first two or three blows, I was fine. But after the third and fourth, I was in a lot of pain.

That was the tough time. That was the time where I had a lot of thoughts in my mind: What if something happens to me? What if I have another fracture? What if I end up getting hit on the same spot where I got fractured? And it did happen, actually. If you remember, one of [Josh] Hazlewood's deliveries did hit me on my finger and I was in terrible pain and I couldn't bear that.

I had to throw my bat. And it was my fractured finger. After that, I couldn't even lift my bat. I had to hold the bat with three fingers. That was the most challenging part because I was set and I knew that now is the time where I can play attacking shots and this is the time to cash in. But I couldn't. I just had to survive.

But the good part was that I had good partners at the other end. Rishabh [Pant] was playing his natural game. Shubman [Gill] played really well.

So the guys at the other end could take the lead role. They started playing their shots and I told them that I'll just have to [stay] there, I can't do much with my batting anymore. I can just defend and try and time the ball, but I won't be able to play a lot of attacking shots now because I can't hold the bat properly. But after that, things went well. There was a good partnership. After tea, unfortunately, I got out. But the players took responsibility and played really well and we ended up winning that Test.

So there's a clip we want to show you. It's Rohit Sharma and his comments in a 2024 press conference saying, "Pujara - he's not done yet."
Cheteshwar: Yeah, he's just mentioning about me hiding out in Rajkot. But now I've started travelling a lot. I'm doing media work as well, so I'll end up meeting Rohit in Mumbai. But yeah, he was saying that I haven't retired and I'm not done yet. I would agree to that. I'm still enjoying my cricket. I will carry on playing. I'll think about retirement a little later. I am someone who likes to live in the present.

The current focus is the book. Puja has worked hard on the book. And I hope that we get good results going forward regarding the book.

Puja, I want to hear your favourite excerpt from the book. Can you read one of the moments for us?
Puja: Is it okay if I read the author's note? Because it really sums up the book.

Cheteshwar Pujara is a man of few words and even fewer expressions. If a smile can do a job, he prefers not to speak. If a sentence can end in three words, he will not attempt to add another.

It is a complaint I have had against him for the longest time. My husband is stubborn, yet accommodating, secretive, but with nothing to hide. He's spiritual without being sanctimonious and loves cracking silly jokes.

For someone who has travelled around the world, overcome incredible hardships and enjoyed unprecedented success, he's not very social. Yet, despite his reserve, he never says no to anyone, even if the request is made by a stranger. He will go, he will always go that extra mile, sometimes at personal cost.

He does not know how to relax, but is always at peace. Cheteshwar has seen the worst of times, days of intense despair, yet he does not know how to share his troubles or lighten his load. He keeps things bottled up, but has it in him to let go.

He's not the greatest ever batsman to play the game, but his journey is truly unique, one that I've had the privilege to be a part of and witness from close quarters. I truly believe that there's something for everyone in the Cheteshwar Pujara story, and that's why I've taken the time to write the book.

Grace Hayden is a sports presenter

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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