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Indian ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin opened up about the roller-coaster of emotions he went through during the Rajkot Test against England. Ashwin said that he went blank upon hearing that his mother fell hill shortly after he reached the milestone of 500 wickets in the Test format. Ashwin also revealed that he wasn’t able to control his tears after hearing the news on the second day’s game. He also talked about the help he received from Rohit Sharma and BCCI secretary Jay Shah during his tough time.
Notably, Ashwin left the Rajkot Test after the second day’s game, while his mother collapsed after complaining of a severe headache in Chennai. The cricketer expressed his gratitude to Rohit Sharma for the same. In one of his YouTube channel’s videos, the off-spinner commented on Sharma’s leadership. The 37-year-old said, “I asked how she was and if she was conscious. The doctor apparently told me that she was not in a position to be seen. I started tearing up. I was searching for a flight but I couldn’t get one.”
He added, “The Rajkot airport closes down at 6 as there are no flights from there after 6. I didn’t know what to do. Rohit and Rahul Bhai came to my room and Rohit literally asked me to stop thinking and leave to be there with my family. And he was trying to arrange a charter flight for me.” Ashwin went on to say, “Kamlesh got a call from Rohit on our ride towards the airport, checking up on me and literally asking him to be with me during this tough time.”
The spinner added, “It was 9:30 at night. I was just gobsmacked. I cannot even think about it. The two people there are the only ones that I could talk. What if nobody was there? I just thought, even if I were a captain, I’d tell my players to go back home. No second thoughts about it. But will I be calling people to check up on him? I don’t know. Unbelievable. I saw an outstanding leader in Rohit Sharma that day.”
Notably, Ashwin missed the third Test and got back to the team’s side in the fourth Test.