3 weeks ago
Pujara recalls 'fanboy moment' meeting Shah Rukh Khan at KKR
Cheteshwar Pujara is a famous cricket player from India.
He told a fun story about meeting a very famous movie star named Shah Rukh Khan.
Shah Rukh Khan partly owns a cricket team called the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Pujara played for that team and said meeting him was a 'fanboy moment,' which means he felt like a big excited fan.
Pujara said players should choose a team because of its environment and the chance to learn, not just because a star owns it.
He played for several IPL teams over the years, including Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings.
He was also on the Chennai Super Kings team that won the IPL title in 2021, even though he did not play in a single match.
Pujara told another funny story about his teammate Josh Hazlewood.
Hazlewood joked that he would not bowl to Pujara in practice because he had already bowled to him too much in earlier India-Australia series.
Cheteshwar Pujara said meeting Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan during his IPL stint was a 'fanboy moment'.
Pujara shared the memory on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles' show, where he discussed his time with KKR.
He played for KKR in the 2009/10 IPL season, scoring 122 runs in six innings at an average of 30.50 and a strike rate of 106.08.
Across 30 IPL matches from 2009 to 2014, Pujara scored 390 runs and later played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Punjab Kings and the 2021 IPL-winning Chennai Super Kings.
Pujara also recalled Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood jokingly refusing to bowl to him in CSK nets after facing him heavily in the 2018 and 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophies.
- Who
- Former Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, discussing KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan and teammate Josh Hazlewood.
- What
- Pujara recalled his 'fanboy moment' meeting Shah Rukh Khan during his KKR stint and shared stories from his IPL career.
- Where
- Mumbai (Maharashtra), India; the remarks appeared on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles'.
- When
- Recollections aired on a show published August 7; his KKR stint was in the 2009/10 season and his IPL career spanned 2009 to 2014.
- Why
- Pujara shared the memories to highlight that a franchise's environment and opportunities to learn matter more to a player than a celebrity owner.
Key facts
- Player
- Cheteshwar Pujara
- Team during 'fanboy moment'
- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
- KKR stint (2009/10 season)
- 122 runs in 6 innings; average 30.50; strike rate 106.08; best 45*
- IPL career 2009-2014
- 30 matches, 390 runs in 22 innings; average 20.52; strike rate 99.74; one half-century
- Other IPL teams
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
- CSK title
- Part of the 2021 IPL-winning squad; played no match
- Interview show
- JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles'
- Key anecdote
- Josh Hazlewood jokingly refused to bowl to Pujara in CSK nets after bowling to him heavily in the 2018 and 2021 Border-Gavaskar Trophies
Quotes
Cheteshwar Pujara
Former Indian Test cricketer and former KKR player
“"During the Australia series in 2018 and 2021, I played a lot against Josh Hazlewood. Then I got picked by CSK. The first time I went to bat in the nets, Hazlewood refused to bowl to me. He said, 'I won't bowl to him.' Even though he was my teammate, he refused. He joked that he had bowled to me far too much over the previous few months before the IPL, so he was not going to bowl to me again. He was kidding, but he actually did not bowl to me."”
livemint.com
“"I started with KKR. Shah Rukh Khan was the owner there. When I met him for the first time, I definitely had that fanboy moment. But when you think about cricket, you can't think, 'Just because Shah Rukh Khan is the owner, I want to stay here.' You want to be there because of the environment the franchise creates, the opportunity to learn from legendary players, play alongside them, and improve your cricket. That is what matters."”
livemint.com
Sources
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