Following his monumental achievement of reaching 500 wickets in Test cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin, the seasoned spinner from India, found himself facing a personal crisis during the Rajkot Test against England. After completing the second day’s play, Ashwin abruptly left the match due to a pressing family matter. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed it was a ‘family emergency’ that compelled his departure, later disclosed to be related to his mother’s health.
Although Ashwin has remained silent on the issue, his wife Prithi shed light on the situation in a column she authored for the Indian Express. She detailed how Ashwin’s mother had suddenly fallen ill, necessitating immediate hospitalization. Rather than contacting Ashwin directly, Prithi reached out to Cheteshwar Pujara to arrange Ashwin’s swift return home.
Upon reaching his mother’s side in the ICU, Ashwin witnessed her gradual recovery, which allowed him to briefly return to Rajkot and rejoin his teammates for the remainder of the Test match.
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Prithi Narayan posted with the caption: “During Rajkot, the kids had just got back from school when five minutes later, he got to 500. And soon, all of us were on the phone answering all the congratulatory messages.
“It was then that I heard a sudden scream from aunty as she collapsed, and in no time we were at the hospital. At that point, we had decided not to tell Ashwin because there wasn’t good flight connectivity between Chennai and Rajkot.”
This sequence of events underscored the delicate balance between professional commitments and familial responsibilities, emphasizing the paramount importance of prioritizing loved ones during times of crisis. Despite the interruption to his cricketing endeavours, Ashwin’s swift response to his family’s needs demonstrated his unwavering devotion and humanity beyond the cricket field.
She further said: “So I dialled Cheteshwar Pujara and his family were of great help. And once we found a way out, I called up Ashwin because after the scans, the doctor suggested it was better to have her son around. Over the phone, he sounded so broken and hung up. It took another 20-25 minutes to process what I told him and for him to call back. And thanks to Rohit (Sharma), Rahul bhai (Dravid) and the others in the team and the BCCI – who followed up all the way till he reached here – he got here late at night,”
“It was a very emotional moment for him to see his mom in the ICU. And after she stabilised, we asked him to rejoin the team. Given his personality, he would never leave a game like that. And he would have an extreme amount of guilt if he didn’t win the game for his team. Through those couple of days, I realised his yearning for time with his parents is a lot more now and it is coming with age and maturity.”
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