“The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife”, a memoir penned by Indian Test cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara’s wife Puja Pujara capturing the journey of her husband and her life with him has been launched in the UK. The book, which Puja said had “something for everyone”, found pride of a place at the Lord’s Cricket Ground library. The book, published by HarperCollins, is now available through Amazon in the UK.

The memoir narrates the achievements and struggles of Cheteshwar’s international career from 2010 to 2023 from a wife’s off-field perspective. “It was a real honour to be invited to ring the bell at the Home of Cricket (during Day 3 of the third Test between India and England), and also present a copy of this memoir at Lord’s,” said Pujara after the formal presentation of the book at the library. “She has put together my entire journey, which even if I was writing an autobiography myself, I wouldn’t have done that. She has captured all the moments, good and bad, very candidly,” he said.

In the book, which was also formally launched at the Nehru Centre in London on Friday, Puja has tried to capture the cricketer’s “unique” journey from the streets of Rajkot to international cricket, while also giving a glimpse into his character as “stubborn, yet accommodating, secretive but with nothing to hide”. “The story is something for everyone. It’s not just for cricket followers, but anybody who picks up the book will find it interesting and will relate to some portion of the book in some way and get inspired,” said Puja.

During an in-conversation session at the Nehru Centre, Pujara said he is enjoying playing cricket and expects to be involved in the game in some form, whether it is commentary or coaching, in the long term. Pujara’s last international match was the WTC Final between India and Australia at the Lord’s in 2023.

“Besides, we both enjoy travelling, and while I am actively playing cricket, we don’t get time for a long break, it’s always more of a staycation than a holiday. So, we want to travel around the world whenever it is possible,” said the Saurashtra cricketer.

Robert Lawson, Chief Executive and Secretary at the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), welcomed the addition of the new memoir to the Lord’s extensive books’ collection. “It’s a very courageous move by Cheteshwar Pujara himself and it’s terrific that Puja feels so empowered to be able to write this and be an inspiration for everyone involved in the game, especially for women,” said Lawson, as he received a copy of the book at the Lord’s.

“When most of us look at cricketers, we only look at them as players on the field. But they have an important aspect of their lives outside of the playing arena and any focus on that deserves all the credit,” said Sujit Ghosh, India’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK.