India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara is often praised for his calm demeanor on the pitch, which is reflected in his Test Cricket batting. The 35-year-old player is known for his serious personality and rarely engages in verbal spats or anything outside cricket. India fast bowler Ishant Sharma recently revealed that Pujara has been like this since his Under-19 days.
Pujara is one of the nicest guys in international cricket, much like his idol Rahul Dravid. In an interview, Indian captain Virat Kohli also mentioned that Pujara is an extremely religious person. Ishant echoed this statement and said that Pujara stayed away from distractions that other players his age got caught up in.
Pujji [Pujara] was like that from the start. From U-19 NCA days, he used to get up in the morning and do pooja and wear janeu (sacred thread). He still wears it. If you ask him certain [naughty] things, he would be like, ‘no this is wrong, I don’t do it’, shared Ishant on Ranveer Allahbadia’s YouTube channel.
The India seamer added that Pujara has stayed the same even after several years, while other players have joined the path of spirituality like him.
We used to think, ‘Bhai, tu jee kyu raha hai?’ (Brother, why are you living?). Pujara is still like that, but we have changed with time. With time, I guess, everyone realizes that this [being spiritual] is also important, he added.
Despite his good nature, Pujara has been dropped from the Indian team due to his poor performance in the World Test Championship Final 2023, where he scored only 14 and 27 in the two innings. Since 2020, the player has averaged 29.69 with 1455 runs to his name. As a result, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are replacing him in the squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies.
In conclusion, Pujara’s commitment to his beliefs and the spiritual path is something that Ishant and others admire. Even though he has been dropped from the Indian team, his reputation as a nice guy remains intact.
