Cheteshwar Pujara who had county cricket stints at Yorkshire in 2015 and 2018, was nicknamed ‘Steve’ by seamer Jack Brooks when the two used to share locker rooms together. In 2021, Brooks had to apologize for his role in nicknaming the India batter. This was after Brooks’ name featured in Azeem Rafiq’s testimony in front of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee in the infamous Yorkshire racism scandal. In 2021, Rafiq had said he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club leading to Yorkshire getting fined £400,000 and handed a 48-point deduction in the County Championship.
In the aforementioned testimony, Rafiq had revealed that Brooks had started the practice at Yorkshire of referring to Pujara as “Steve”, rather than use his given name. Even Pujara had referenced being called Steve by Brooks instead of his real name in a video a few years back.
“I would prefer Cheteshwar but it’s difficult to pronounce so the guys have come out with ‘Steve’. But yeah, personally I would prefer Cheteshwar. I think it’s Jack Brooks who started off with it. He couldn’t pronounce my first name so he was asking me what nickname I have. I said no, I don’t have any nicknames. And he said, we’ll start calling you Steve. Initially they were calling me Puj, they have started calling me Steve again. It’s a good nickname but as I said, I prefer Cheteshwar,” Pujara had said in a video by ESPNCricinfo.
Brooks issued an apology in 2021 for his role in a statement on the Somerset club’s website.
“With reference to my naming in Azeem Rafiq’s statement to MPs this week, the use of the name ‘Steve’ related to some people having difficult names to pronounce. When this has occurred in the past in a dressing room environment, it has been commonplace to give nicknames, regardless of creed or race,” Brooks said.
“I admit to having used it in this context and now accept that it was disrespectful and wrong to do so. I have reached out and apologised to Cheteshwar for any offence that I have caused him or his family. At the time I didn’t recognise this as racist behaviour, but I can now see that it was not acceptable,” he added.
Pujara retires
On Sunday, Pujara hung up his boots from all forms of Indian cricket after having played his last match for the country in 2023. “As a little boy from the small town of Rajkot, along with my parents, I set out to aim for the stars; and dreamt to be a part of the Indian cricket team. Little did I know then that this game would give me so much – invaluable opportunities, experiences, purpose, love, and above all a chance to represent my state and this great nation,” he said in his farewell note.
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“Wearing the Indian jersey, singing the anthem, and trying my best each time I stepped on the field – it’s impossible to put into words what it truly meant. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with immense gratitude I have decided to retire from all forms of Indian cricket,” said Pujara in a heartfelt note,” he added.
