Cheteshwar Pujara's wife Puja Pabari threatens to expose Indian cricket's dirty politics

Veteran Indian Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara’s wife, Puja Pabari, has shared some eye-opening moments from their life and the life of a cricketer’s wife in her new book, titled "The Diary Of A Cricketer's Wife: A Very Unusual Memoir."

The book reveals Cheteshwar Pujara’s incredible rise to becoming one of India’s most dependable Test batters for years, who was often compared to the legendary cricketer Rahul Dravid for his calmness and grit in whites. However, Pujara has now been out of the Test team for a couple of years.

Cheteshwar Pujara nearly dropped before historic Test series in Australia

Well, the entire nation celebrated Pujara’s contributions, especially his heroic performances in Australia during the historic 2018-19 Test series win; not many knew about the emotional battles the seasoned batter fought behind the scenes during that Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Read Also: MS Dhoni accused of keeping CSK in the dark; management member becomes whistleblower

In her book, Puja revealed that just before that historic Test series, there were internal discussions about dropping Pujara from the Indian cricket team. However, Pujara wasn’t supposed to hear this, but he accidentally overheard a phone conversation that left him deeply disturbed and hurt.

Puja further shared that it took time and trust for the right-handed batter to open up about this incident. However, in a classy move, the couple didn’t reveal the name of the person who suggested dropping Pujara to avoid any unnecessary controversy, but still, it raised many eyebrows.

Puja Pabari reveals why she mentioned the incident in her book

Recently, Pujara and his wife, Puja, opened up about this particular moment from the book that made the headlines. However, she clarified that the reason behind sharing the story wasn’t to blame anyone but to highlight Pujara’s calmness and strength during a tough phase.

Puja Pabari was quoted as saying by NDTV, “The idea to write that incident was not to describe it. The idea was how he kept his calm and didn't get affected, showing courage and resilience. The one intention wasn't to malign anyone; that is not the intention. The intention was to inspire everybody.”

She also mentioned that the person involved in the incident likely doesn’t know the story was included in the book and that her focus was never on controversy. She explained, “I don't think he or anyone knows about it. The purpose is just a 2-line thing and not what has been highlighted.”

Read Also: "If you have 2-3 players like Shreyas Iyer"- Virender Sehwag shoots Agarkar-Gambhir at point-blank range

Cheteshwar Pujara reveals why he didn't name the person who wanted him dropped on 2018-19 Australia tour

Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara revealed that the reason behind not naming anyone in his wife’s book was to avoid exposing anyone. The seasoned batter admitted that he was disappointed about what was said, but he moved on, looking at the bigger picture.

Pujara further noted that his main focus was on winning the matches for his country, and even though he played through a minor injury, he scored a century in Melbourne and helped India win the match.

Cheteshwar Pujara said, “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. That was our first ever victory on Australian soil. 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.”

'There were a lot of things at stake'

During India’s historic Test series win in Australia, Cheteshwar Pujara’s father was ill, but he stayed mentally strong, knowing his wife Puja was handling things back home, as his priority was to help Team India make history, and they did in style under Virat Kohli’s captaincy.

Pujara signed off by saying, “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, I knew Puja was looking after my father. So, I was relieved.”