“Meri koi girlfriend nahin thi” - Cheteshwar Pujara shares heartwarming story of his arranged marriage

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara revealed that he did not have a girlfriend before his marriage on a podcast with journalist Vimal Kumar. The batter shared a heartwarming story of his arranged marriage.

Cheteshwar Pujara revealed how his focus was on cricket and that when his family proposed for him to look for a partner, he met Puja Pabari, who is now his wife. He also narrated the story of their marriage.

"Meri koi girlfriend nahin thi. Pura focus cricket pe tha aur jab family ne baat ye propose kari ki this is the right age for you to get married toh tabhi maine decide kiya ki I will start meeting the suitable person. Jab pehli hamari mulakat hui, tabhi hum log ki jaise baat shuru hui, aap person ko janne aur samajhne lagte hai. You cant call it love at first sight but you get along with the person. (I did not have any girlfriend. My entire focus was on cricket and when my family told me that it is the right age for me to get married then I decided that I will start meeting the suitable person. When we first met, as we started talking, you get to know and understand the person. You cant call it love at first sight but you get along with the person)," he said.

"Aap ek dedh ghanta kisi ke saath baat karte hai toh aapko samajh mai aa jata hai ki inke saath aap aage bhi baat karna pasand karenge. She was also very sure that she wanted to have a word with me. Ekdum typical arranged marriage nahi tha. Humne ek dedh mahina ek dusre se baat kari phone pe hum touch mai the. Mai travel kar raha tha. Ek dusre ko janne ki koshish kari aur uske baad humne decide kiya ki she is the right person. (When you talk for an hour or hour and a half with the person you understand that you would like to talk to them further. She was also very sure that she wanted to have a word with me. It was not a typical arranged marriage. We spoke to each other for a month and a half and were on touch over phone. I was travelling. We tried to know each other and then we decided that she is the right person)," he added.

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Cheteshwar Pujara not a part of the England tour

On the expected lines, Cheteshwar Pujara has not been included in the Team India squad for the upcoming England tour despite Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's retirement from Test cricket.

India are set to tour England for a five-Test series in June this year, which also marks the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle for them. Cheteshwar Pujara last featured in a Test during the 2023 WTC final against Australia and has been out of the team ever since.

He played 103 Tests for India and has scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.60 with 19 hundreds and 35 half-centuries to his name. As he does not find himself in the squad for the England series, it could very well mean this is the end of the road for Cheteshwar Pujara with the transition period coming in.