How Saurashtra boy Cheteshwar Pujara toughened up in Mumbai
India's Cheteshwar Pujara at nets on eve of the second Test at the SSC ground in Colombo. Pic/AFP
India's one-drop batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is ready to take guard in his landmark 50th Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo today. Though Pujara, 29, plays Ranji Trophy cricket for Saurashtra, he had a strong Mumbai connection during his formative years.
Former India pacer Karsan Ghavri, also a former Saurashtra player, recalled how a young Pujara faced some Ranji Trophy bowlers confidently at the Bharat Petroleum nets at Mahul in Chembur in the late 1990s.
Impressive potential
"When Cheteshwar's father Arvind brought him to the Bharat Petroleum [Ghavri's former employers] ground, he was just 11. I saw him in the nets for two days, facing all our bowlers — Ravi Gadiyar, Deepak Rai, Hakim Khan — bowling at their regular speed with ease. He looked very impressive and there was a lot of potential in him," Ghavri, who was then coach of Bharat Petroleum, told mid-day yesterday.
Ravi Thakkar and Karsan Ghavri
"After watching Cheteshwar bat, I told Arvind to take good care of his son as he had the makings of a top-class cricketer and provide him all the facilities he needed. I give lot of credit to Arvind because he sacrificed a lot of things for his son and of course, Cheteshwar is so dedicated and focused. There have been ups and downs in his cricket career, but he has faced them all with character. I'm delighted to see this boy play his 50th Test.
"Cheteshwar's biggest strength is his hunger for runs, his temperament to occupy the crease and once he settles down he doesn't give away his wicket," concluded Ghavri.
The Mumbai connection
Pujara Sr, a Saurashtra Ranji cricketer, spent three summers along with his wife Reena, fine-tuning their kid's cricketing talent in Mumbai where former Mumbai left-arm spinner Ravi Thakkar played a vital role.
"He was a cricket-crazy child. After our academy nets at 9.30 am, my son Varun and I, along with three to four bowlers, used to bowl to him for another two hours. I was very impressed as he played so well. I felt good bowling to him as he used to play fearlessly and his technique was rock solid. For practice matches, I along with Arvind used to take him to New Hind Sporting Club in Matunga apart from other grounds. Even on match days, he wanted me to bowl at him in the nets," said Thakkar.
It was this former Mumbai left-arm spinner that convinced Arvind to let his son play for Saurashtra. "Arvind wanted Cheteshwar to play for Mumbai, but I felt it would be better to play for a smaller team because it is very hard to get into Mumbai team considering the competition here," said Thakkar.
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