R Ashwin on Thursday said he had to leave the IPL 2021 midway as almost everyone in his family got infected with COVID-19 and he had sleepless nights worrying about their safety while he was playing in the T20 competition.
Why Ashwin Left IPL 2021 in mid?
“Almost everyone from my place had got affected due to Covid. In fact, few of my cousins also got admitted and were serious and they somehow recovered,” said Ashwin on his Youtube channel.
“I couldn’t sleep for almost 8-9 days. Since I couldn’t sleep, it was really stressful for me. I was playing matches without getting any sleep. And since I found it really taxing, I had to quit IPL and go home midway.”
“In fact, when I left, around that time, I had thoughts on whether I will be able to play cricket thereafter. But still, I did what was required at that point of time.”
The premier India spinner said he was considering returning to the IPL as his family members started getting better but the tournament was eventually suspended.
“I thought there won’t be any cricket for some time. Even IPL got postponed. In between, when people in my house started recovering, I thought of coming back into the IPL and that’s when IPL was called off,” he added.
Watch Ashwin’s Quarantine diaries
Ashwin is currently serving his 14-day quarantine with the Indian team ahead of the UK tour comprising the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and five Tests against England.
India’s squad for England Tour
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav,
Subject to fitness clearance
KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper)
Standby players
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Arzan Nagwaswalla
India’s tour of England – 2021-22
| S. No | Date | Match | Venue |
| A | 18th – 22nd June | WTC Final vs NZ | Southampton |
| 1 | 4th – 8th August | 1st Test vs England | Nottingham |
| 2 | 12th – 16th August | 2nd Test vs England | London (Lord’s) |
| 3 | 25th – 29th August | 3rd Test vs England | Leeds |
| 4 | 2nd – 6th September | 4th Test vs England | London (Oval) |
| 5 | 10th – 14th September | 5th Test vs England | Manchester |
