Lot Happened Between 500 and 501, Longest 48 Hours of Our Lives: Ravichandran Ashwin's Wife Prithi Pens Emotional Note

Ravichandran Ashwin’s wife Prithi took to Instagram to pen an emotional note for the cricketer after the end of the third Test of the five-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, now known as Niranjan Shah Stadium, in Rajkot on Sunday.

“We chased the 500 to Hyderabad, it didn’t happen. To Vizag, it didn’t happen. So I just bought a ton of sweets and gave it to everyone at home at 499. 500 came and went quietly. Till it didn’t. A lot happened between 500 and 501. Longest 48 hours of our lives. But this is about the 500. And the 499 before that. What a phenomenal achievement. What a phenomenal guy. I am insanely proud of you Ravi Ashwin. We love you,” Ashwin’s wife Prithi wrote on Instagram.

A post shared by (@prithinarayanan)

India beat England by a whopping 434 runs in the third Test to take a 2-1 lead as Ashwin made a trip in between to his hometown in Chennai due to a medical emergency.

Ashwin had left mere hours after reaching the coveted milestone of 500 Test wickets on the second day of the match.

Former India coach Ravi Shastri had lauded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for organising a charter place for the Indian off-spinner.

“The BCCI secretary Jay Shah organised a charter to take him home and bring him back. I think that’s the kind of empathy that’s needed from the BCCI as well. There are the guardians of Indian cricket and with this kind of empathy, they will go a long, long way. It also makes the players feel they belong and are special,” Ravi Shastri said during on commentary.

India captain Rohit Sharma was more than understanding of the circumstances saying at the press conference that missing out on your best bowler was not an easy challenge to overcome.

“When you lose your most experienced bowler… especially in the middle of a Test match is not easy,” said the Indian captain.

“Everything was aside, family comes first. And when we heard the news, there was no second thought in our mind,” added Rohit Sharma.

“(We felt) he should do what he feels is right and he wanted to be with the family which is absolutely the right thing to do,” said the skipper.