Ravichandran Ashwin has just achieved a milestone, having completed 500 wickets under 100 matches, but he has decided not to play in the ongoing Rajkot Test match and the India vs England series. Ashwin’s strong fanbase, who call him ‘Anna’, is wondering, worried, and curious to know the reason why he exited an ongoing match.
Where everyone is delighted to know that Ashwin joins the elite club of iconic spinners of all time including Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), James Anderson (696), Anil Kumble (619), Stuart Board (604), Glen McGrath (563), Courtney Walsh (519), and Nathan Lyon (517). Ashwin took his 500th wicket on 16th February 2024, against England, Zack Crawley was his wicket.
India won the toss in Rajkot and decided to bat first, young superstars Jaiswal and Gill didn’t disappoint but captain Rohit Sharma (131) played a powerful inning against English Men. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (112) added valuable runs, and debutante Sarfaraz Khan (62) and Dhruv Jurel (46) proved their talent and India scored well 445 in the first inning.
The two-day game is over, and England is in a strong position (214/2), opener Ben Duckett’s (134*) inning emerging nightmare for ICT fans. Now, the news is that Ashwin, who took an important wicket and completed 500 test wickets for India, is not playing in the ongoing match and series ahead.
No specific reason has been revealed by the BCCI, but they have confirmed that Ashwin has withdrawn from the squad, effective immediately, due to a family medical emergency. Leaving an ongoing match, fans are discussing what kind of emergency it could be, while according to some sources, Ashwin left midway due to his mother’s illness.
BCCI extends its support to the star cricketer and wishes him well in this tough time. Recently, BCCI Vice President Jai Shah also talked about Virat Kohli’s leave, clarifying that it’s his right to take leave in these 15 years of the game.
Devdutt Padikkal replaces the spinner as a fielder, which is bad news for Indian Cricket Fans as they will miss an impactful and experienced bowler in the game.