India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s wife Prithi Narayanan penned down a wholesome tribute to her husband, who called time on his international cricket career earlier this week.
Ashwin confirmed his retirement decision during a press conference at the Gabba, where the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test ended in a draw.
Ever since Ashwin hung up his boots, tributes have been pouring in for the legendary off-spinner from different quarters. His wife Prithi also paid an emotional tribute, reminiscing his cricketing journey over the years as the two stood by each other during the highs and lows of life.
"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 favourite 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. When I saw Ashwin's PC, I thought of small and big moments. Many many memories over the last 13-14 years,” wrote Prithi in a post on her Instagram account.
“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.. 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,” she added.
"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. I remember us talking about why you, R Ashwin, had to do all of this and a lot more to even stay relevant in the scheme of things,” she further stated.
“How awards, the best of stats, the POMs, the accolades, the records didn't matter if you didn't sharpen your skill sets constantly and did not put in the work. Sometimes, nothing is enough. 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. It is time to set the burden of being you down. 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,” she concluded.
Ashwin represented India in 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is, picking up 765 wickets across all formats. He finished his career as the country’s second highest wicket-taker (537 scalps) in Test cricket, only behind Anil Kumble’s record tally of 619 dismissals. He was also part of India’s 2011 World Cup triumph and 2013 Champions Trophy title win.
