Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin’s wife, Prithi Narayanan, penned an emotional note ahead of Team India’s first Test of the five-match series against England on Friday, June 20. Team India begins a new era in the longest format without the presence of three stalwarts - Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Rohit and Kohli stepped away from Test cricket before the squad announcement for the England tour, while Ashwin moved on from his international career midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, after the Gabba Test in Brisbane ended in a draw in December last year.
The veteran Indian off-spinner announced his international retirement, bringing down the curtains on his illustrious Test career that spanned over a decade, leaving behind not only a legacy but also a huge void in the line-up, both in terms of skill and experience that will be hard to replace in the new-look India side for the high-stakes Test series against England.
Prithi Narayanan to find a new way of loving Test cricketAhead of the Headingley Test between England and India, Prithi Narayanan took to her Instagram story and penned an emotional note, admitting that there will be ‘mixed feelings’ to watch Test cricket, given that Ashwin will no longer be part of India’s red-ball setup, and must find different way to love the format.
“Test match day for India, and I woke up with many many mixed feelings :) have to find a way to love it and unlearn the only way I knew to." R Ashwin’s wife wrote.
Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the greatest off-spinners the cricket world has ever seen. The 38-year-old retired from Test cricket as India’s second-highest wicket-taker of the format with 537 wickets, including 37 fifers and 25 four-wicket hauls, at an average of 24.00 and an economy rate of 2.83 in 106 matches.
Ashwin was touted to break Anil Kumble’s all-time India Test record of 619 wickets, but his decision to retire midway through the five-match Test series against Australia in December 2024 brought an unexpected end to what could have been a record-breaking journey.
Ravindra Jadeja to lead India’s spin attack in Ashwin’s absenceAfter Ravichandran Ashwin called time on his illustrious international career, Ravindra Jadeja remains an experienced spinner in India’s Test setup and is expected to spearhead the spin attack, mentoring the young spinners in the squad throughout the England series.
Ashwin and Jadeja have been one of India’s successful bowling pairs in the history of Test cricket, having picked 587 wickets together. Overall, they are the sixth most Test bowling pair after James Anderson-Stuart Broad, Glenn McGrath-Shane Warne, Muthiah Muralitharan-Chaminda Vaas, Curtley Ambrose-Courtney Walsh, and Nathan Lyon-Mitchell.
As Ravichandran Ashwin stepped away from international cricket, especially from his most successful format, Ravindra Jadeja, being one of the senior-most players in current India squad, will shoulder the responsibility,