“In a selfish society like ours, that man who decides to take a moment to think of someone else’s well being, he’s truly great” – Ravichandran Ashwin on his Indian Cricket team Captain, Rohit Sharma.
India’s frontline spin bowling all-rounder, Ravichandran Ashwin had to leave the team and travel back home amid the third test match played between India and England at Rajkot.
Just hours after Ashwin became the second Indian bowler ever to claim 500 wickets in test match cricket, his mother collapsed after a headache and was hospitalized in Chennai. After being unable to reach his parents via a phone call, Ashwin finally got hold of his wife on the phone. Her voice was breaking. She asked Ashwin to go somewhere alone, away from his team-mates and informed him that his mother had collapsed after a severe headache.
Ashwin just blanked out. He didn’t remember what he did, but he was crying. He didn’t know what to ask his wife. Ashwin didn’t want anyone to see him cry – it was an instinctive reaction from his side. He just sat alone in the room, not knowing what to do.
On one hand, he was aware that he had to go back home, but he also thought of not letting his team-mates down. Ashwin couldn’t strike that balance. He didn’t know what to tell the coach or the captain. He was in the XI, and if he goes home,then the team would be left with only 10 players, giving England the advantage.
Ashwin was continuously thinking of his mother. And when was the last time he spoke to her. In his mind, he knew that he had to go back home and see her. The doctors apparently informed that nobody was allowed to meet her. This made him worry a lot more.
As Ashwin wasn’t answering his phone his wife must have called Rohit and Dravid to tell them the news. The Indian Cricket Captain, Rohit Sharma walked in, saw him thinking, and asked him to leave for his home right away. Rohit asked him to pack his bags and rush back to his home without wasting his time. In the meantime, Cheteshwar Pujara arranged for a chartered flight for Ashwin.
Rohit Sharma also asked Kamlesh Jain, the team physio to accompany Ashwin all the way to Chennai just to make sure he (Ashwin) wasn’t short of anything and had someone alongside him in case of a predicament, despite Kamlesh being just one of the only two physios on the team. Ashwin had asked Kamlesh to stay back, but it was Rohit Sharma who insisted on having Kamlesh alongside. On reaching the airport to board the flight, to his surprise, Ashwin saw Kamlesh and a security guard already waiting for him at the airport. Rohit had asked them to look after Ashwin and help him out in this adverse situation.
Not just that, Rohit also kept calling Kamlesh to check in on him and to see how he was doing. Rohit always inquired about Ashwin’s mother’s health and also had strong backing towards his team mate who wasn’t having the best of his time.
In a recent interview Ashwin mentioned that it is his ‘good heart’ and empathy that makes Rohit Sharma a successful captain. He also mentioned that his respect towards Rohit grew tremendously after that incident.
Captains like Rohit Sharma are once in a generation leaders. Rohit is a leader with an open heart and connects with people easily. There is a fine line between a Captain and a leader and Rohit, in the history books will always be remembered as a fine leader. With an approach characterized by composure and a focus on building a healthy team environment, that fosters confidence both among the seasoned campaigners as well as among the youngsters, Rohit Sharma has always been “The Captain to the rescue” for his team.
The Sportz Planet Desk,
Atharva Shetye.
