Ravichandran Ashwin’s wife Prithi Narayanan posted a heartfelt note for the star Indian allrounder on Thursday, a day after he announced his immediate retirement from international cricket.
Narayanan recalled Ashwin’s cricketing journey over the years, his “small and big moments”, and shared how she felt when the 38-year-old announced his retirement.
“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,” Narayanan wrote in an Instagram post.
She said, “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,” Narayanan posted.
She also recalled “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.”
Prithi Narayanan further wrote, “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,” she added.
“…Sometimes, nothing is enough,” she said. Narayanan said, “It is time to set the burden of being you down.”
“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. 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,” Narayanan posted.
R Ashwin retires
Ashwin made the announcement of his retirement at a hastily-called media conference following the drawn test between Australia and India at the Gabba.
“It’s a very emotional moment,” Ashwin said. “I have had a lot of fun, I have made a lot of memories alongside Rohit (captain Rohit Sharma) and my other teammates. I do feel there’s a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to showcase that in club-level cricket.”
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