PRESS RELEASE: What The Duck 2 – Cheteshwar Pujara, The Cricketer Who Was Never Allowed To Play With A Tennis Ball  

Jan 9, 2019 at 4:07 PM

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PRESS RELEASE: What The Duck 2 – Cheteshwar Pujara, The Cricketer Who Was Never Allowed To Play With A Tennis Ball  
MUMBAI, June 30th, 2017: With a certain ‘Wall’ of the cricket team missing a few years ago, there was a sudden vacuum that needed to be filled for the test team’s number 3 batting position. Experts believe that this position belongs to the batsman with the best technique. That’s why Cheteshwar Pujara or the new Mr Dependable comes into bat, either to build a platform for the others to attack or to save the test match. Vio-on-demand service Viu, brings to viewers What The Duck 2, a show that exposes the softer side of cricketers. This week, test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara graces the couch while Sathaye ensures to bring out the best in him.
Cheteshwar the son of Ranji Trophy player Arvind Pujara, fondly talks about the influence of his father in his cricketing career. He goes to make a shocking revelation that his dad never allowed him to play with a tennis ball in his entire life. The rationale was that the ball had a different bounce and would spoil his footwork required for playing with a seasoned ball. During gully cricket, he was only allowed to be a wicketkeeper.
Pujara has made many sacrifices to come this far, he also reveals how he was not allowed to enjoy any of the festivals such as Holi, Diwali or Garba as it could cause him some or the other injury. Pujara grew up with a disciplinarian father that has a big role to play in his success as a cricketer. Not to forget, his wife who monitors his game and gives him feedback after every inning. The entire family is invested in his game. The passion of cricket runs through the family line and reflects in Pujara’s performance on the field.
The Saurashtra player talks about the time he scored a triple hundred in his very first game in domestic cricket. He coyly says that he got habituated to making runs after scoring these hundreds, two of them when he was under 22 while the last one was the Ranji trophy game against Orissa. He also describes himself as an all-rounder when it comes to sport as he plays table tennis and badminton, not to forget mentioning his obsession for playstation. Apparently, he is a total different person during playstation and claims to give others team mates a run for their money in these games. Pujara opens up about these battles with colleagues with so much fervor and enthusiasm, that makes for a thrilling watch.
Superstitions are strongly associated with cricket since players seem to be extremely influenced by it. Chetestwar reveals his religious rather spiritual side but mentions that there is no room for such beliefs in his life. He believes that preparation is above these frivolous myths and the only way to succeed in the game of cricket is hard work, passion and self-confidence.
Pujara takes us through a very funny incident that took place with him while batting with the great Sachin Tendulkar. In the farewell test, there was so much chaos from the crowds that it left Pujara disoriented. Reminiscing about one of the tours, while playing in partnership with Tendulkar, he reveals his surprise when the crowds would start clapping when a wicket has been taken only so that it would increase the chance of Sachin to come to the position above to bat. Even while Pujara was hitting a boundary, the crowds looked disappointed as they wanted the master blaster to take strike. The moment he would get one run, the audience would cheer for him rather than the four being hit. That is the unconditional love that India has for Tendulkar.
The moment one associates cricket with Australia, how can there be no sledging stories. Pujara narrates a funny incident where, set aside the Aussies even the umpire was sledging at him. Recalling another incident in the third test match at Ranchi, one of the players went up to him and told him that if he doesn’t get out, they would have to call for a wheelchair for him. Such a huge compliment coming from the Australians is indeed extremely gratifying for Pujara.
Vikram Sathaye beautifully encapsulated the life of Pujara in the 20-min episode this week on What The Duck 2. The show captures all the elements of your favourite players only on Viu. All you need to do is turn to your mobile and download the Viu app on Android or iOS.
About What The Duck:
What The Duck is a cricket comedy chat show hosted by Vikram Sathaye on the digital platform Viu. Launched alongside the Viu app in 2016, Season One of the show was a swashbuckling success with participating cricketers such as Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag launching the property. What The Duck also inspired Viru Ke Funde, a Viu property which established Virender Sehwag as a social media celebrity. Participating in Season Two of the show are Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Sir Vivian Richards, Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Parthiv Patel, Kapil Dev and Ajinkya Rahane among others. To Viu What The Duck 2, download the app.
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