After reaching the milestone of 500 wickets during the Rajkot Test against England, veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin had to leave abruptly. He attended the press conference after the day’s play and then quickly left for home.
The BCCI stated that Ashwin had to leave due to a ‘family emergency,’ which was later revealed to be related to his mother’s health. Although Ashwin hasn’t addressed the issue, his wife Prithi provided insight in a column she wrote before the cricketer’s 100th Test.
R Ashwin’s Wife Revealed Details About Rajkot Test Emergency
In her article for the Indian Express, Prithi detailed how Ashwin’s mother suddenly collapsed, leading the family to rush her to the hospital. Instead of contacting Ashwin directly, she reached out to Cheteshwar Pujara to arrange the return journey for the Indian off-spinner. She wrote:
“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.”
She added: “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,”
Ashwin’s Wife To Pujara’s Help
She further revealed how she took the help of Cheteshwar Pujara and his family. She revealed:
“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,”
After reaching home, Ashwin found his mother in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Fortunately, she recovered, prompting the veteran spinner to catch a return flight to Rajkot and rejoin his teammates on Day 4 of the Test match.
“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,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Ashwin is about to mark a significant milestone by playing his 100th Test for India in Dharamsala on Thursday, during the fifth Test against England. This achievement will place him among the esteemed ranks of Indian cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sourav Ganguly.
