Ashwin reveals how Pujara helped him after mother collapsed, explains how Rohit has surpassed Dhoni's goodness

Add as a preferred source on Google

Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed about the ordeals which took place after he picked his 500th Test wicket during the third Test against England in Rajkot. The veteran off-spinner had to leave the match midway to attend his mother in Chennai as he collapsed after what Ashwin called a 'splitting headache'.

The 37-year-old on his Youtube channel said that he ended up in tears after he came to know about the news, and wanted to leave immediately but could not find a flight. It was then that India captain Rohit Sharma seemingly got in touch with Cheteshwar Pujara, who arranged a chartered flight to Chennai.

"The 500th wicket was cherished and I displayed the ball, but I can't say it was an outstanding ball," Ashwin described the milestone delivery on his YouTube channel.

"I was informed much earlier that I had to give an interview on JioCinema (official broadcaster) after my milestone. When we were talking, they played a recorded video of my father. After my father, my mother spoke but I couldn't hear clearly. After that I did the press conference. The match was in a precarious situation, England were 200/2 (207), Ben Duckett was playing high-risk shots at will. I thought I had him out but the ball pitched outside leg stump by millimetres. So I was determined to put in the effort the next day. I remember I said in the press conference that the game was hanging in the balance.

"After that I went to the dressing room, the usual debrief happened, Rohit and I spoke for some time about the match and then I went to my room. I was wondering why I didn't receive any calls from my parents or my wife. I thought maybe they were giving interviews, others were maybe wishing them, and they'll be busy with that. I called my wife around 7 PM, my wife's voice didn't sound too good, and she asked me to come separately to speak. She told me my mother had collapsed after a splitting headache.

"I went blank. I didn't know how to react. I went to my room and cried along for some time. I didn't pick up the phone and I suppose she called my team physio to check on me. Rohit and Rahul Dravid were probably informed and both of them came to the room. I didn't know what to do. 'I'm part of the eleven and the game is in balance. The team will become 10 if I leave, they (England) had a slight upper hand, they had given a good fight...,' I had thousands of thoughts running through my mind. At the same time I was thinking of when I last spoke to my mother. I had almost made up my mind to leave.

"After all that, I started searching for flights but I couldn't find one. Rohit told me 'don't think about anything, leave immediately, I'll try to arrange a charter flight for you'. A big thank you to Cheteshwar Pujara. He somehow got a flight from Ahmedabad, got it chartered, I don't know how those two hours went on the flight. And then what Rohit did...he asked Kamlesh (physio) to leave with me. With the team having only two physios, I asked Kamlesh to stay back. When I went down, the security and Kamlesh were waiting to take me. Rohit calls Kamlesh and tells him 'stay with Ashwin, comfort him, take care of him'," Ashwin said.

'Rohit Sharma has taken 10 more steps than Dhoni, an outstanding leader'

Further. Ashwin expressed astonishment at the kindness of Rohit Sharma. He said MS Dhoni had similar traits of kindness and selflessness, but Rohit had surpassed him. Ashwin talked in detail about Rohit Sharma's act of sending the team physio with him to Chennai.

"It was 9:30 PM. I was gobsmacked. Even if I was the captain and if something like this happened to the player, I would have definitely asked the player to go. But enquiring about him, asking someone to go with him...unbelievable. I'm seeing an outstanding leader in Rohit. I can't express this, I've played with a lot of captains over the years, but there is something about Rohit. His good heart is the reason he has been able to win five IPL titles, equal to Dhoni. God won't give things like these easily, I just hope god gives him something big. Thinking about another person, understanding the troubles and taking care of that...it's a rarity to find a person like this in a selfish world.

"My respect for him (grew more)...I already have a lot of respect for him. If he believes in a player then he backs that player. It's not an easy thing. Even Dhoni does that. But he (Rohit) has taken 10 steps more. When it gets so personal like this, a player can even give his life on the field," said Ashwin, appreciating all the help that Rohit provided.

"And then I went home and saw my mother. She was in and out of consciousness. It was 3 AM and she asked 'did you leave the match?' The next day she tells me to leave immediately. So many things happened around the match, I'm not able to count all of them. But it was an outstanding (display of support from the team), they are all great people, no doubt about that.

"The next day the doctor told me that she was showing better signs. I went to see her again and she told me 'leave immediately, there are only 10 people there (on the field).' When I think about this, there is a huge difference looking at my generation of parents and the previous generation, I can't be even half of what my mother and father have been. They have invested their lives in the progress of their children," said Ashwin.

How Jay Shah ensured Ashwin's timely arrival in Rajkot on Day 4

Once Ashwin's mother recovered and asked him to immediately join the Indian Test squad, Ashwin reached out to the BCCI and found immediate support from secretary Jay Shah who ensured his timely arrival on Day of the Rajkot Test.

"Having decided to rejoin the team, Ashwin informed the BCCI about it. "If I leave Chennai in the day, it takes until night to reach Rajkot. The (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah immediately called me. He said he'll arrange the flight and asked me to just reach the airport at 7 AM. I landed by 12, did some warmups with the help of Kamlesh and entered the field immediately after that. It's not easy to land and immediately play. My legs were hurting. That neural fatigue was there till the last match.

"Look at the downs and ups of life. I took 500 wickets but even before I could reflect on it and celebrate it, I got such news. When it comes to my mother, you leave everything aside. Travelling from city to city, I experienced the high and low within hours," said Ashwin in the video where he summed up the first four Tests."

Ashwin finished the 5-Test series as the leading wicket-taker. He picked 26 wickets in five matches at an average of 24.81. In his 100th Test (5th Test in Dharamsala), Ashwin picked a five-wicket haul in the second innings.