In a series that saw him make his 100th Test appearance and cross the 500 wickets milestone, Ravichandran Ashwin couldn’t be more thankful of Rohit Sharma for his ‘good heart’.
Taking to his YouTube channel, the Indian off-spinner commended Rohit for his leadership in times of a personal adversity for the Ashwin family that saw India’s star player leave the squad midway through the Rajkot Test to attend his mother, who’d collapsed after a headache in their hometown Chennai.
Confronted with the dilemma of whether or not to leave his team at a crucial juncture in the series, Ashwin shared how the Indian captain helped him with the decision. “I asked how she was and if she was conscious. The doctor apparently told me that she was not in a position to be seen. I started tearing up. I was searching for a flight but I couldn’t get one. The Rajkot airport closes down at 6 as there are no flights from there after 6. I didn’t know what to do. Rohit (Sharma) and Rahul (Dravid) Bhai came to my room and Rohit literally asked me to stop thinking and leave to be there with my family. And he was trying to arrange a charter flight for me,” Ashwin shared.
But it was the gesture from Rohit that followed which left Ashwin ‘gobsmacked’. He narrates, “Kamlesh, the team physio, is a very good friend of mine. Rohit told him to fly with me to Chennai and be with me but I convinced him to stay back. When I went down, the security and Kamlesh were already there, waiting. Kamlesh got a call from Rohit on our ride towards the airport, checking up on me and literally asking him to be with me during this tough time. It was 9:30 at night. I was just gobsmacked. I cannot even think about it. The two people there are the only ones that I could talk. What if nobody was there? I just thought, even if I were a captain, I’d tell my players to go back home. No second thoughts about it. But will I be calling people to check up on him? I don’t know. Unbelievable. I saw an outstanding leader in Rohit Sharma that day.”
Ashwin believes it is this level of personal attention and empathy that Rohit has for his players which have contributed in his success as a captain. “I’ve played under several captains and leaders, but it is his (Rohit’s) good heart that has made him what he is today – someone with five IPL titles as equal to Dhoni. God doesn’t give it easy. He should get something bigger than all that, which god will give him. In such a selfish society, a man who thinks about someone else’s well being is a rarity. My respect for him grew tremendously after that. I already had respect for him as a leader, he backs a player without question until the last moment. It’s not an easy thing. Even Dhoni does that. But he takes 10 steps more.”
On his return back to the squad, Ashwin went on to finish the series with most wickets – 26 – which included two-five wicket hauls as India hammered England 4-1. It was a first-ever series defeat for the visitors since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes had took charge of the dressing room.