Beyond the pitch, life of a cricketing family
The wives of Indian cricketers have broken the glass ceiling — from managing the finances of their celebrity husbands to running sports management companies, from playing social media influencers to making laws in the state assemblies, they have found their place in the sun.
Take, for example, Cheteshwar Pujara. Once India’s mainstay in Test cricket — and a man of few words and fewer expressions — he is still cutting his teeth as a commentator, but his wife has already cut out her first book, ‘The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife’.
Puja Pujara, an MBA in retail management, has come out with a 311-page memoir, recounting her 12 years of journey as the wife of an international cricketer. Co-authored by journalist Namita Kala, it is a sneak peek into the life of the Pujara family, devoted only to cricket. Cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara remains the pivot around whom father Arvind Pujara, a Railways employee, and mother (late) Reena Pujara’s lives revolved.
The book is written deftly, keeping the readers engaged till the middle, stretching only towards the end with match descriptions.
The book has been structured into four parts: how an MBA girl and a celebrity cricketer became a couple, a recap of Cheteshwar’s cricketing journey that began in Rajkot, the years following their marriage, and finally, Cheteshwar’s recent struggles to make it to the playing XI of the Indian Test team.
The 37-year-old veteran, who last played for India in 2023 at the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, has not ruled himself out from the Test team yet. Hence, interested readers and fans can be rest assured that there are no explosive disclosures, no discussion on team feuds or selection drama.
The author, however, admits that the family often feels that Cheteshwar is conveniently made the scapegoat for the team’s poor showing, the last time being after the 2023 WTC final. Early on, Puja Pujara also notes that all the team gossip she came to know was only from the fellow wives of cricketers during matches.
It is a very unusual memoir, says the sub-title, but the reader is strained considerably to find the unusual part in it. Stories of living out of a suitcase, months-long separation from family, recuperating from injuries and braving troll armies have become a regular fare for an international cricketer now. It is through the wife of the cricketer, rather than himself, that these stories are coming out. It is but natural that a distance is maintained between the reader and his subject.
As it often happens in families, when the husband finds it difficult to say uncomfortable things, he leaves it to his better half to do the talking. Cricket is much the same in India — fathers, wives and coaches do the hard talk part with the BCCI.
Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, and now, Cheteshwar Pujara are only following the trend.
Book Review