Coming down at no. 3 for India in Tests, Cheteshwar Pujara is known for his two significant qualities, discipline and patience that help him battle out the tough times.
Similar has been the story for 32-year-old dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought all of sporting events to a standstill.
“During the lockdown, the most important thing is to make sure that you are at home. Everyone should understand the danger and stay indoors, though it can be frustrating. But this is like a battle that we are fighting” Pujara told TOI from Rajkot.
“(And) those qualities of patience and discipline do come in handy. The qualities I have as a cricketer are helping me deal with this period effectively. I have that mental strength. So it does help,” he said.
Taking cricket out of Pujara is no easy task, however, for time being, the gentleman’s game seems to be very far from his mind.
“At times, you need to stay away from the game. Fortunately, this has come at the end of the season. Once the Ranji Trophy ended, I was supposed to take a break for a week or two. This has been longer than that. We don’t know when the game will restart. So we are in a tough situation. But if we look at the problems other people are facing, then we can’t really think about the game,” Pujara, who among the sportspersons who had a video interaction with PM Narendra Modi last week, said, adding: “The virus is so dangerous that we have to fight this together. It is like a war. We have to make sure everything becomes normal first. And then we can think about the game,”
“I am sure things will be under control in a few months’ time. Then, we can think about county cricket and everything else. Every major sporting event has been affected. Even if the county season doesn’t happen, one shouldn’t worry much because human lives are more important than any sport,” he said.