Beyond the cricket pitch

Virat Kohli's decision to retire from Test cricket has led to collective heartbreak among the legions of fans rooting for him.

- CHINTAN GIRISH MODI

While the disappointment is understandable, so is Kohli's steadfast refusal to consider professional success as the only measure of a life well-lived. In the current climate of hyper-productivity, rest is often misunderstood as self-sabotage. Hopefully, Kohli's courageous step will inspire his fans to prioritize what is really important.

Cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara's wife, Puja, who has an MBA in retail management and has worked in marketing and customer service as a manager in a multinational company, throws light on the cost of fame in her book The Diary of a Cricketer's Wife (2025). She shares, "Within a few months of our marriage, I discovered an annoying thing about Cheteshwar: His inability to take a back step and enjoy himself." She was shocked that his entire existence was defined by "the extremely narrow perimeters of the game." It was difficult to make him realize that he needed to "learn how to lighten up". Written in collaboration with author-translator Namita Kala, this book is published by HarperCollins.