“It is like a war, can't think about the game right now” – Pujara on COVID-19 pandemic

The world has come to a practical standstill due to Coronavirus outbreak.

Just like every other professional cricketer in the world, India’s leading Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara is currently resting at home in the wake of Coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 82,000 lives and infected over 1,434,200 people globally thus far.

India too has been dented by the COVID-19 outbreak as the country reported close to 5200 positive cases and 149 deaths as of April 8.

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In order to contain the spread of this deadly virus, Indian government had imposed a nationwide lockdown for three weeks on March 24 and Pujara is obeying the guidelines like a truly responsible citizen.

"During the lockdown, the most important thing is to make sure that you are at home. Everyone should understand the danger and stay indoors, though it can be frustrating. But this is like a battle that we are fighting. Those qualities of patience and discipline do come in handy. The qualities I have as a cricketer are helping me deal with this period effectively. I have that mental strength. So it does help," he told TOI from Rajkot.

Pujara is known for being an obsessed student of the game. However, cricket is far away from his mind at the moment.

"At times, you need to stay away from the game. Fortunately, this has come at the end of the season. Once the Ranji Trophy ended, I was supposed to take a break for a week or two. This has been longer than that. We don't know when the game will restart. So we are in a tough situation. But if we look at the problems other people are facing, then we can't really think about the game. The virus is so dangerous that we have to fight this together. It is like a war. We have to make sure everything becomes normal first. And then we can think about the game," the 32-year-old remarked.

Having gone unsold in the IPL 2020 auction, Pujara was supposed to play county cricket for Gloucestershire but that too has been postponed at least till May 28 and faces a cancellation with the rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases in UK.

"Something like this can't be controlled. It has happened for the first time in our lives and I hope it won't happen again. We can't think about the game right now. I am sure things will be under control in a few months' time. Then, we can think about county cricket and everything else. Every major sporting event has been affected. Even if the county season doesn't happen, one shouldn't worry much because human lives are more important than any sport," he said.