R Ashwin in action. (Courtesy: BCCI.TV)

R Ashwin landed in a difficult situation soon after taking his 500th Test wickets in the Rajkot Test on Friday. He withdrew from the squad and returned to his home in Chennai to support his ailing mother. Former Team India coach Ravi Shastri said that BCCI looked over his travel to Chennai from Rajkot as its secretary Jay Shah arranged a chartered plane for him.

“The BCCI secretary Jay Shah organised a charter to take him home and bring him back. I think that”s the kind of empathy that”s needed from the BCCI as well. There are the guardians of Indian cricket and with this kind of empathy, they will go a long, long way. It also makes the players feel they belong and are special,” Ravi Shastri said during his commentary stint on Day 4 of the Rajkot Test.

Ashwin missed out on the cricketing action for the entire day. But no penalty was imposed over him for missing the third day of play entirely. As per ICC”s clause 24.3.2, “A nominated player”s absence will not incur Penalty time if, in the opinion of umpires, if the player has left the field for other wholly acceptable reason, which shall not include illness or internal injury.” Ashwin, who arrived in Rajkot on Sunday afternoon, was seen going through the drills during the tea break.

As far as the Rajkot Test is concerned, Friday was a special day for Ashwin as he became the only second Indian bowler in Test cricket to complete 500 wickets.

For the unversed, Ashwin’s mother, Chitra, has been a key figure behind his rise in cricket. She was his first coach and also reportedly advised him to look beyond fast bowling and concentrate on spin bowling instead. He was also put into Indian Classical Music as his mother was into it but he chose to excel in cricket.