Pujara on slow road to recovery

BANGALORE: Cheteshwar Pujara landed in England last month only to return home even before MS Dhoni & Co set foot on the English soil for their two-month Tour beginning on July 15.
The young middle-order batsman, who had injured his right knee during an Indian Premier League game for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on May 8, has been operated upon in England and has been advised rest for at least four months.The Saurashtra lad cannot even pick his willow and practice for another month. He requires crutches to walk.
Currently on rehab at the National Cricket Academy under physio Nitin Patel, the 23-year-old is optimistic of his recovery ahead of the Ranji season. Australia are scheduled to play a Test series in India around that time as well.
"I consulted knee specialist Dr Andrew Wallace in London on June 28 and was diagnosed with a complete tear in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). I went under the knife on July 1 and have been advised a rehabilitation-cum-strengthening programme at the NCA," described Pujara.
"Now that my ACL is reconstructed, the focus is on recovery and strengthening. I am using crutches now and have to continue that for two-three weeks. Then, I might switch to cycling and then jogging before resuming batting. It is a painfully slow programme," explained the Test specialist, who had been excluded for the Caribbean tour as well.
Pujara, who was picked by RCB in the IPL auction, featured prominently in the starting XI but was injured while going down for a slide near the cover boundary against Kochi Tuskers Kerala. It was his second knee injury in three seasons. Earlier, he had injured his left knee during IPL 2 in South Africa, resulting in the same ACL tear, which too necessitated a surgery then.
"I was not feeling any pain a few days after the injury. But I felt the discomfort when I started running. Dr Wallace told me that pain cannot be the yardstick for the seriousness of the injury," stated Pujara.
Pujara, who walked into the Indian Test squad with a reputation as a run machine in the domestic circuit, made a stellar debut against Australia in Bangalore with a gritty 76 in the second innings, coming ahead of Rahul Dravid at No. 3.
Already looked upon as a meritorious talent, Pujara had told TOI after the injury about making the cut for the England tour. He was expecting a lot from the tour because his last trip to England with the India 'A' side had yielded rich returns even as he topped the batting chart in both three-day and one-day formats.
"It is everyone's dream to play at Lord's. As I had reported to NCA, the physio must have updated the selectors about by fitness status. I can't do anything about it," said Pujara, whose India 'A' show was a fitting reply to his critics who doubted his run-acquiring skills away from the featherbeds in India.
Asked about the difficult days, Pujara struck a calm note. "I love reading and watch sports channels on TV. Obviously cricket is my first preference but I do love watch tennis as well," signed off the youngster.