Cheteshwar Pujara is struggling to cement his spot in India’s Test team. Not long ago, there was a common belief among the Indian cricket fans that Pujara is the one who is going to replace Rahul Dravid in Test cricket. Pujara made a very good start to his Test career but now he is struggling for runs and getting in and out of the playing XI.
While we hope Pujara gets his good form back and cements his spot in the team, he s doing something that will increase your respect for him many folds.
Cheteshwar Pujara has invested in six acres of land in Rajkot and built cricket pitches on it in an effort to help young talents who are interested in pursuing a career in cricket. There are around 50 young cricketers who train there and Pujara doesn’t a single penny for them.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s training academy has the following facilities:
- A small gym
- A make-shift dressing room
- A bowling machine which runs on battery
- A roller machine purchased
- A bathroom
- A small restroom
“Rajkot doesn’t have any ground where children can practice regularly. In Mumbai, you have Shivaji Park and Azad Maidan where proper good-quality nets take place. I was lucky that Railway gave us one pitch to practice, but that is not available anymore. Someone has to provide them the basic facilities otherwise, how will they grow as cricketers?” Pujara said in an interview.
“One needs match practice and that is how I developed my game. I travelled to Mumbai often to play practice games. The only time these boys play matches is when some district tournament happens. I know people might think that I have taken a gamble by having a full-fledged ground but god has given me so much. However, it takes lot of money to maintain this ground but things will be fine (financially) till the time I am playing for India. But sooner or later we will have to look out for sponsors,” he added.
