'Heard a sudden scream from....': R Ashwin's wife Prithi opens up on family emergency during Rajkot Test

Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was forced to take a leave of absence after the second day's play of the Rajkot Test against England. Ashwin, who had achieved the milestone of 500 wickets on the same day, held a press conference after the final session and promptly flew home. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that a family emergency necessitated Ashwin's departure, which was later revealed to be related to his mother's health.

Although Ashwin has not publicly addressed the situation, his wife Prithi provided insight in a column she wrote ahead of the cricketer's 100th Test. In her piece for the Indian Express, Prithi detailed how Ashwin's mother had suddenly collapsed, leading the family to rush her to the hospital. Instead of contacting Ashwin directly, Prithi reached out to Cheteshwar Pujara to coordinate the off-spinner's return journey.

"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 the column.

"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," she further added.

Upon arriving home, Ashwin was relieved to see his mother in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Fortunately, his mother made a full recovery, prompting the seasoned spinner to promptly board 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 further said in the column.

Ashwin, who has taken 17 wickets in four games against England in the current series, will be participating in his 100th Test match when the two cricketing powerhouses face off in the fifth Test in Dharamsala, starting on Thursday, March 7th.

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