Cheteshwar Pujara may not have set the IPL stage on fire during his playing career, but a defining moment came way back in 2009 — long before he established himself as one of India’s leading Test batters.

At just 21, Pujara was on the verge of making his mark in the IPL with KKR. However, a sudden career-threatening knee injury during a practice match threatened to ruin all his plans.

A little-known story from 2009 has been narrated in The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife, written by Pujara’s wife, Puja (published by Harper Fiction, 2025).

Long before he became India’s most dependable Test batter, Pujara’s cricket career nearly came to a halt and KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan played a pivotal role in saving it.

“Destiny impelled him to dash heedlessly to a ball for a catch that was never there; and the result: a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, an impending surgery and a temporarily halted cricketing career — all without playing a single game for KKR,” the book recalls, as quoted by India Today.

KKR management immediately took responsibility, promising to cover all medical expenses for Pujara in Cape Town, South Africa, where doctors specialised in sports injuries.

Pujara’s father, however, was hesitant as he wanted his son to return to Rajkot, where a trusted family friend, Dr Nirbhay Shah, could operate. It was then Shah Rukh Khan stepped in and reassured him that South Africa was the best place to have the surgery and not India.

“Shah Rukh also told me that Chintu had a great future ahead of him and should have the best-available medical treatment. When he realised I was worried about the absence of a support system in South Africa and my faith in Dr Shah’s abilities, he offered to fly him and any family members I wanted with me,” Pujara’s father is quoted as saying in the book.

KKR handled passports, visas, and travel arrangements proficiently. The Bollywood icon personally reassured Pujara's family that KKR would fly out anyone needed to support one of the junior-most members of the team.

“We’ll also fly down anyone you want for the surgery. We’ll pay them here so that you have your own people around you,” a representative told Pujara’s family. Within days, Pujara’s father and Dr Shah were in Cape Town, Puja writes.

The surgery was successful, and Pujara recovered fully. While he couldn’t become a household name in the IPL, Pujara went on to become one of India’s most reliable Test batters, delivering several match-defining performances.

(With India Today Inputs)