'Cheteshwar Pujara & his family were of great help' - R Ashwin's wife Prithi opens up on family emergency during Rajkot Test

During the 3rd Test between India and England at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had to leave the game mid-way for a day as he had some family emergency. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not state the family emergency, it was later revealed to be linked to his mother's health.

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However, now, his wife Prithi shed light on what transpired and how Cheteshwar Pujara and his family were of great help to them. In a column she penned ahead of the cricketer's 100th Test for the Indian Express, Prithi elaborated on how Ashwin's mother suddenly collapsed, prompting the family to rush her to the hospital. 

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"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 was 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 till he reached here - he got here late at night," she further added.

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Upon reaching home, Ashwin was relieved to find his mother in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Fortunately, his mother made a full recovery, prompting the seasoned spinner to rejoin the squad in Rajkot 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 added.

Ashwin, who has claimed 17 wickets in four games against England in the ongoing series, is set to mark his 100th Test match when the two cricketing giants clash in the fifth Test in Dharamsala, commencing on Thursday, March 7.

Squads:

England Squad: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Daniel Lawrence, Gus Atkinson

India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Srikar Bharat, Devdutt Padikkal, Axar Patel, Mukesh Kumar.

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