India’s Test specialist, Cheteshwar Pujara has been a rock in India’s batting line-up in the longest format of the game over the years. He hasn’t played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a long time now due to his ‘Test player status. However, he was part of the cash-rich league in 2009 when the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) secured his services. This was also the season when the IPL was played in South Africa due to general elections in India.
Pujara’s father, Arvind recalled a moment during the IPL 2009 when the co-owner of the KKR franchise Shah Rukh Khan had offered a huge help to the family. The incident dates back to the said time when Pujara sustained a hamstring injury and his family was hellbent that the cricketer should return to Rajkot and get treated.
However, Shah Rukh Khan offered that Cheteshwar Pujara should stay in South Africa and get the surgery done. Perhaps, the cricketer’s father recalled Shah Rukh’s kind gesture when the latter offered to fly their family doctor Nirbhay Shah and any number of family members to the rainbow nation in order to convince them.
In his column for the Indian Express, Arvind Pujara wrote: “We were keen that he returned to Rajkot and get the surgery done here. But KKR, rather the co-owner Shah Rukh Khan, insisted that Chintu gets treated in South Africa. There was logic in what he was saying. Since rugby players often have this injury, doctors in South Africa were more used to these surgeries.”
He further added, “Shah Rukh was also of the view that Chintu had a great future ahead and should get the best medical support. To convince us, he offered to fly Dr Shah and any number of family members to South Africa. I didn’t have a passport so I asked Dr Shah to travel alone. But he insisted that I too should take the trip. All the paperwork was done in record time and I was on a flight to South Africa.”
Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara is currently in Delhi with the team India squad gearing up for the second Test of the four-match series against Australia. The hosts won the first game comfortably in Nagpur and will be keen on taking a 2-0 lead now. As for Pujara, he will be looking to make a telling contribution after registering a low score in the series opener.
