Ravi Ashwin reveals when he almost decided to quit cricket battling mental health

Ravi Ashwin recently became second Indian bowler to get to 500 test wickets.

Ace Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin recently enshrined his name in the record books. Ashwin became second Indian and ninth overall bowler to pick up more than 500 test wickets. Ashwin completed the milestone against England during the five-match test series played in January-March 2024. Ashwin is now preparing for upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Ravi Ashwin had a stellar run in Indian cricket, but once he had a troubled patch where he decided to leave the game and and pursue MBA to have a career outside the game. Ashwin revealed during an interview with The Indian Express that once the game was negatively impacting his life. He also revealed that one day he had a fight with his father which left him in tears.

Ashwin’s huge revelation ahead of the IPL 2024

During an interview with The Indian Express, Ravi Ashwin revealed that his constant scrutiny was putting him in the bad mental phase. Ashwin said, “There are layers of mental health, Some people can succumb to pressure. Some are on the road all the time and can get jaded. Sometimes you are in a very dark place in your life that you want to talk to someone, and I think more often than not, people find themselves in the situation of a victim. Which is a very dangerous situation in my book.”

Ravi Ashwin added that he found himself in a dark spot due to the governmental, organisational activities in the game. Ashwin added, “I would say cricket, in many ways, is a corporate affair with a little bit of governmental organisational activities and attributes. Though If I come and talk with my dad about corporate stuff, he has only one line to say: It’s all politics. And that’s a very large line. And even fans end up doing the same thing. Occasionally, when I find myself in a dark spot, I have also done that a little.”

Ravi Ashwin also revealed an instance where he had a fight with his father and how his father’s one line made him emotional and he started weeping. Ashwin said, “My wife is a wonderful listener, but she had a very young family and I was not giving her enough time. One fine day, we were having a conversation. My dad said something. And some internal affair of the house had broken down. And I said something to my dad. My dad and I fight a lot. And he eventually threw a statement “You know what? You are too upright and honest. That’s why you are getting screwed.”

This one statement from his father became the breaking point Ashwin started considering pursuing a career apart from cricket. Ashwin said, “He made that statement and left. I am not someone who is emotive. I would like to think I am pretty strong but I just locked myself away. And then I started weeping. I was crying for a long time. I didn’t expect my dad to say that. I don’t think he even realized what he did. I thought I am putting people in my house through a lot. I used to lock myself in the room. I never watched cricket. My room used to be dark all the time.”

Ashwin concluded, “I decided to quit cricket. I was asking myself what would I do? And I said whatever I do in life, I would try to achieve excellence and be as good as I can be in that profession. I would probably try to do an MBA and probably be in marketing. I gave myself so many options and then thought before I make any decision, I must get crystal-clear clarity.” Ravi Ashwin picked up 26 wickets in the recently concluded five-match test series against England.

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