No regrets, have been fortunate to have played for long time: Pujara
Rajkot (PTI): He hasn't played Test cricket for the past two years and Cheteshwar Pujara understands more than anyone else that time is right for him to bid adieu without any regrets. Pujara, 37, announced his retirement from competitive cricket on Sunday, having scored 7195 runs in 103 Tests with 19 centuries at a healthy average of 43 plus.
"There are no regrets. I am very fortunate to have played for the Indian team for such a long time, not many players got that opportunity so I am very thankful to my family and people who have supported me," Pujara told reporters in a media conference in his hometown.
He has already started his work as a broadcaster during the recent Test series in England and indicated that he has found his calling in commentary.
"I am really happy that I am calling this off but at the same time I will stay attached to the game. As a cricketer, I would like to stay associated to the cricket, doing commentary and I have started doing media work as well.
I am not going to play cricket but I will be watching the Indian team and commenting in it. The honour will continue," he added.
He made his Test debut in 2010 but it was after Rahul Dravid's retirement in 2012 that he made No.3 spot his own for the next decade.
He had two memorable tours of Australia but 2018-19 series, where he scored 521 runs with three hundreds, facing as many as 1258 deliveries will always be his lasting legacy.
"There have been many great moments on the field but if i have to single out one Test series on the Australian soil in 2018 was one of the best achievements of my cricketing career and one of the best memories for the India team as well," he said.
"It was one of the best series I have been a part of."
Pujara, who literally forced his way into the Indian team in 2019 against Australia had scored a 72 in a run-chase in the second innings in Bengaluru. He remembered how he was overawed when he first entered the Indian dressing room.
"I made my debut for the Indian team in 2010, that was one of the proudest moment of my cricketing journey. When I made my debut in 2010 under Mahi bhai, it was a dream come moment for me because there were some great players in the team.
"Players like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, I am still trying to recollect those names.. whom I have grown up watching so it was one of the proudest moments of my cricketing career."
On a deeply personal note, he remembered his mother Reena Pujara, who passed away in 2005, after battling cancer when he was 17.
"...she always used to tell my father that don't worry about your son eventually he will play for the Indian team and her words come true and I am sure she will be very proud of the achievements I have made in my cricketing journey.
"But at the same time I still remember her words, she used to tell me that you need to be a good person no matter how big you become as a cricketer, I still remember that and she will be very proud of me."
The veteran batter also expressed gratitude to his spiritual guru Haricharan Das Ji Maharaj for helping him stay calm and balanced during high-pressure moments.
"I would also like to thank my spiritual guru, Shri Haricharan Das Ji Maharaj, who has contributed in my spiritual journey. His words, 'You need to be mentally calm and focus on the game because you play in a high-pressure situation, not just in cricket but in life and he has taught me so many things and to stay balanced and focused'."
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
