2024-03-08 00:48:03
Achieving a Test milestone is a special honor for any cricketer. And if it happens to be a century milestone, then the joy of achievement is doubled. The joy of Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin’s 100th Test match has touched his wife Prithi Narayan.
On the occasion of Ashwin’s 100th Test, Prithi, an engineer by profession, wrote a column in the Indian newspaper ‘Indian Express’. There, she has mentioned all the words of love, passion and sacrifice for her husband.
Referring to Ashwin’s 100th Test in the beginning, Prithi wrote, ‘My husband Ravichandran Ashwin is standing at the door of playing 100th Test. And our marriage age is 98 test. We got married soon after his debut. I used to keep track of these even five years ago, but then the interest waned. I didn’t want to be obsessed with it. 99 Tests went quickly.’
Referring to how different the life of a professional cricketer is, Prithi further wrote, ‘The life of a professional cricketer is completely different from what people think from the outside. We didn’t date before marriage. There was no preparation. I had to go to Kolkata for her Test debut right after marriage.’
However, Prithi expressed all the sacrifices for her husband, ‘I don’t know how much I have been able to overcome these difficulties for the love of the game. I know, I love him. But if I don’t like his work, what I am doing today, what would I do? Cricket was taking away most of what I could build with him. It took me a while to realize that to be successful at the highest level, you have to give up something.’
Cricket is a part of life for a cricketer. It is not less than wife or child. Prithi commented that Ashwin is not the exception, ‘his career took a big turn in 2017. He told me in March that year, if he doesn’t diversify his bowling, he will be dropped from the team. Indeed he was dropped from the limited edition team midway through the year. Times were very difficult then.’
How is the field cricketer Ashwin father? The answer to this question is well prepared by his wife, ‘As a father, he is dutiful. Loves to run with the kids at school. He teaches children to bat. At the end of the IPL, he might teach bowling. Crazy about Tamil movies too. The bug of Tamil cinema has entered the children’s heads. So when he comes home, the kids have a bit more time to watch TV.’
Ashwin is a devoted child to his parents. Citing the Rajkot Test of the current series against England as an example, Prithi said, ‘His 499-wicket period was not so pleasant. Because, soon after Ashwin got his 500th wicket, Ma (Ashwin’s mother) fell down and got hurt. When I told him about it on the phone, he seemed to have broken down after hearing the voice.’
‘Seeing mum in the ICU was a very emotional moment for her. After mom recovers a bit we ask her to come back to the team. Judging by his personality, I can say that he is not the kind of person to leave the match like that. In those days, I realized what a deep relationship he has with his parents and it has increased with age and maturity.’ – added Prithi.
Ashwin’s wife, who had different philosophies between cricket and personal life, ended with heart-wrenching love, ‘While writing this, we are preparing to leave for Dharamshala. What a pleasure! Congratulations Ashwin. Together we reached 99 Tests. Matches you played, matches you didn’t play – we are proud of everything. This journey was fascinating. Hope you enjoy the rest of the journey.’