Batting long comes naturally to Cheteshwar Pujara and now he wants his fellow Indians to do the same by staying at home as “the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic can only be won by being indoors”.
Pujara was one of the elite Indian sportspersons who attended the video call held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to discuss ways to fight the coronavirus.
“The Prime Minister wanted us to pass on the fighting spirit of a sportsperson to the general public. Sportspersons do inspire to fight,” Pujara said.
“Every single person is a soldier at the moment. If you stay indoors, you are fighting the battle for your own country. There has to be a collective effort else we can’t win this,” said India’s Test batting mainstay.
After helping Saurashtra win their maiden Ranji Trophy title last month, little did he know that he would be spending all his time at home. Pujara is enjoying the “forced” break and most of his time goes into entertaining his two-year-old daughter.
The closest he has got to a “hit in the nets” is by playing with a plastic bat.
But a gym at home means he is not compromising on his fitness.
“I usually take everything in a positive way. Sometimes you need to take a break as a sportsperosn and there can’t be a better time. We just won the Ranji and it is the right time to take three to four weeks off.
“Luckily I have a gym at home. With gym, I can still do my strength sessions, cycling and running. I also do yoga which helps a lot,” said Pujara.
He was supposed to play county cricket in the UK but that too has been postponed at least till May 28 and faces a cancellation.
Considering the current circumstances, Pujara might have to wait till the Australia tour starting November to play his first competitive game since the Ranji Trophy final. But he is prepared for any eventuality.
“I would still have some first-class games before the Australia tour. I am prepared for anything. This is the time when we can’t just be thinking about sporting events. First, we have to win this battle against coronavirus,” he said.
“We just need to make sure the virus is contained and things get back to normal. After that we can talk about the game.”