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Veteran Indian all-rounder and legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday, December 18 announced shocking retirement as the third Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 ended in a draw with rain marring more than two days of the match in Brisbane. Days after Ashwin called it quits from international cricket, his wife Prithi Narayanan, who has been an integral part of his journey, shared a heartfelt note for her husband.
Taking to social media, Prithi penned a long emotional note, sharing her experience of seeing Ashwin from close quarters in his 13-year-long cricketing career. Moreover, this note from Ashwin’s wife came after his daughter penned a beautiful note, who returned to India soon after the conclusion of the third BGT Test in Brisbane.
It is time to set the burden of being you down: Prithi Narayanan to R Ashwin
Taking to Instagram, Ashwin’s wife called the last couple of days as “blurry” but expressed her feeling in the best possible manner. “It has been a blurry two days for me. I have been thinking about what I can say.. Do I put this down as a tribute to my all time favorite cricketer ? Maybe I’ll just take the partner angle? Or maybe a love letter from a fan girl? I guess this is a little bit of all of it,” she began her message for the recently retired cricketer.
“When I saw Ashwins PC, I thought of small and big moments. Many many memories over the last 13-14 years. The big wins , the MOS awards, the quiet silence in our room after an intense game, the sound of the shower running for much longer than usual on some evenings post play , the scratch of pencil over paper as he scribbled thoughts down, the constant streaming of footage videos when he is making a game plan, the calm of meditative breathing before leaving for each game, certain songs playing on repeat while he unwinds.. The times we weeped in joy - after the CT final, after the MCG win, after the Sydney draw, The Gabba win, after making a comeback in T20s…the times we sat in silence and the times when we had our hearts broken,” she continued.
“Dear Ashwin, from not knowing how to put a kit bag together to following you to stadiums all over the world, rooting for you, watching you and learning from you, it has been an absolute pleasure. The world you introduced me to gave me the privilege to watch and enjoy a sport that I love from close quarters. It also showed me how much passion, hardwork and discipline is needed to keep your head above water. And sometimes even that is not enough. I remember us talking about why you, R Ashwin, had to do all of this and a lot more to even stay relevant in the scheme of things. How awards, the best of stats, the POMs, the accolades, the records didn’t matter if you didn’t sharpen your skill sets constantly and did not put in the work. Sometimes, nothing is enough. As you end your wonderful international run, I only want to tell you that it’s all good.It is all going to be good.It is time to set the burden of being you down. Live life on your terms, make space for those extra calories, make time for your family, make time to do absolutely nothing, share memes all day, create a new bowling variation, bug our kids out of their minds. Just do it all ♥️” Prithi further added, encapsulating her experience from close quarters.
Notably, Ashwin played the second match of the five-match series in Brisbane, and retired from the game as the second-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 537 wickets in 106 games, sitting only behind Indian legend Anil Kumble. Earlier this year, he became the fastest Indian bowler to reach 500 Test wickets. With a total of 106 Tests, the Chennai boy has a total of 537 wickets at an average of 24.00 and economy of 2.83. The cricketer has also recorded a total of 37 five wicket hauls and eight 10 wicket hauls throughout his career.
