Prithi, the wife of Indian veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, shared the details about the alarming incident when Ashwin’s mother unexpectedly collapsed, prompting the family to quickly take her to the hospital.
Ravichandran Ashwin achieved the significant milestone of 500 wickets during the Rajkot Test against England. However, his joy was short-lived as he had to abruptly leave the match. Despite attending the press conference after the day’s play, he rushed home due to a family emergency, later revealed to be related to his mother’s health.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officially stated that Ashwin had to depart due to a ‘family emergency.’ While Ashwin himself has not addressed the issue, his wife Prithi shed light on the distressing events in a column she wrote ahead of his 100th Test.
Prithi opened up about the health emergency involving her mother-in-law during the third Test against England in Rajkot. She provided details that led to Ashwin leaving the match suddenly to be with his family, giving a heartfelt perspective on the challenges they faced. As Ashwin approached his 100th Test, Prithi shared these family concerns, offering a personal glimpse into the emotions surrounding the Rajkot Test.
“Unlike the excitement around his 100th Test, as a family we were very cocooned when he was on 499 wickets. That was because Ashwin did not talk about it. 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,” Prithi wrote in a column for The Indian Express.
Prithi shared how she sought support from Cheteshwar Pujara, who hails from Rajkot, to handle the situation before letting Ashwin know.
“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,” Prtihi added.
Ashwin joined the ranks of Anil Kumble as the second Indian bowler to secure 500 Test wickets, achieving this milestone as the second-fastest globally, following in the footsteps of Muttiah Muralitharan.
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