Chennai: Senior Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has decided to take a break from the ongoing
Chennai: Senior Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has decided to take a break from the ongoing IPL, saying that his family is currently "putting up a fight against COVID-19" and he wants to support them.
The 34-year-old is competing for the Delhi Capitals this season and hopes to return to the side "if things go in the right direction".
"I would be taking a break from this years IPL from tomorrow. My family and extended family are putting up a fight against #COVID19 and I want to support them during these tough times," Ashwin posted on his Twitter page after DC's game against SunRisers Hyderabad here on Sunday night.
"I expect to return to play if things go in the right direction. Thank you @DelhiCapitals," added the Chennai-based player.
It is learnt, that a very close member of his family has tested positive for the dreaded virus.
His franchise promised full support to him in a twitter post of its own.
"Extending our full support to you in these difficult times, @ashwinravi99. Sending you and your family all the strength and prayers from all of us at Delhi Capitals," DC said.
Ashwin has become the first Indian player to pull out of the league because of a COVID-19 situation in the family.
Given that the IPL is being held in a bio-bubble, Ashwin will have to be in quarantine for some days if he decides to come back and compete, which would also impact his availability going forward in the tournament.
In an earlier tweet, Ashwin had expressed concern about the pandemic ravaging the country right now.
"Heart breaking to see what's happening around my country! I am not in the healthcare fraternity, but my sincere gratitude to each of them. I would also like to make an earnest appeal to every Indian to exercise caution and stay safe," he had said.
India is recording over 3 lakh daily cases for the past few days and the health infrastructure is struggling to handle the rise with shortage of oxygen and some crucial medicines adding to the crisis.
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All opposition leaders will be in jail if BJP wins LS polls: Kejriwal
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that all opposition leaders, including his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and RJD leader Tejashvi Yadav, will be in jail if the BJP wins the Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing his party workers at the AAP headquarters here, Kejriwal asserted the BJP will not return to power and said the INDIA bloc will form the government on June 4.
“In last 20 hours after release from jail, I talked to poll experts and people and got to know the BJP is not going to form the government,” said Kejriwal.
“The AAP will be part of the government at the Centre. We will get full statehood for Delhi,” he added.
Kejriwal charged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is asking for votes for Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“These people ask INDIA bloc about their face. I ask BJP who will be their PM? Modi ji is turning 75 on September 17 next year. He had made the rule that people aged 75 will be retired. They retired LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sumitra Mahajan,” said Kejriwal.
“He will retire next year. He is seeking votes for making Amit Shah the prime minister. Will Shah fulfill Modiji”s guarantee?” he asked.
Kejriwal also claimed that if the BJP comes to power, the party will change Uttar Pradesh chief minister within two months.
While Kejriwal was in jail, the BJP had demanded his resignation.
Talking about why he did not resign, he said, “The chief minister’s post is not important for me. I did not step down as the chief minister because a conspiracy was hatched to force me to resign on a fake case.” Kejriwal in a scathing attack on the BJP said all “thieves and dacoits” are inducted by the party.
“If the prime minister wants to learn about fighting corruption, he should learn from Arvind Kejriwal. We sent corrupt to jail and even our own ministers,” he added.
The chief minister also alleged that the “prime minister has left no stone unturned to crush the AAP by sending its four top leaders to jail”.
