My grandfather and father made me fall in love with cricket: Cheteshwar Pujara
· Yahoo Sports
Cheteshwar Pujara, who was one of Team India's most reliable batters in Test cricket and played a key role in Team India's first ever test series win on Australian soil in 2018-19, says watching cricket matches on TV with his grandfather (Shivlal Pujara) and father (Arvind Pujara) during childhood was one of the key reasons he fell in love with the sport. Pujara, who has 19 Test centuries to his name, tells us, "My grandfather was a cricketer, and my father played the sport too. So, the love for cricket runs in our family. Back in those days, not all international matches were televised, but I would watch all televised matches involving the Indian team with my father and grandfather. I remember being glued to the TV and watching Sachin (Tendulkar) paaji in action against top sides like Australia and Pakistan in ODI cricket. It was fascinating. So, I got into the sport thanks to my grandfather and father."
Pujara, who lost his mom (Reena Pujara) when he was just 17, adds, "I also owe a lot to my mother for the way she brought me up. When I was disappointed after not getting picked for the under-15 Indian team even after an unbeaten triple hundred at the under-14 level for Saurashtra, she told me that I was talented enough and will certainly make it to the Indian team one day. She always had that confidence in me, and that gave me immense self-belief. Hailing from a normal middle-class family, I owe whatever I have achieved today to the values she instilled in me early in life. While she never said ‘no’ to any of my demands, including playing video games, she made sure I never neglected my studies. She taught me time management at a very young age. The most important lesson she taught me was when she told me, 'You may not become famous or successful as a cricketer, and that is fine. But you must become a good human being first.' Those words have always stayed with me."
Pujara, who lost his mom (Reena Pujara) when he was just 17, adds, "I also owe a lot to my mother for the way she brought me up. When I was disappointed after not getting picked for the under-15 Indian team even after an unbeaten triple hundred at the under-14 level for Saurashtra, she told me that I was talented enough and will certainly make it to the Indian team one day. She always had that confidence in me, and that gave me immense self-belief. Hailing from a normal middle-class family, I owe whatever I have achieved today to the values she instilled in me early in life. While she never said ‘no’ to any of my demands, including playing video games, she made sure I never neglected my studies. She taught me time management at a very young age. The most important lesson she taught me was when she told me, 'You may not become famous or successful as a cricketer, and that is fine. But you must become a good human being first.' Those words have always stayed with me."
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