Delhi Capitals spinner R Ashwin had pulled out of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) just a week before the tournament was suspended after several players and staff members testing positive for coronavirus. The reason behind Ashwin's withdrawal from the league was due to the fact that he wanted to support his family, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Ten of R Ashwin family members -six adults and four children tested positive for the virus in the second wave which has hit India badly. Ashwin has been pretty vocal about the ongoing COVID-19 situation in India. The Tamil Nadu lad has been repeatedly making people aware of wearing masks and getting vaccinated.
Now, the 34-year old took to his YouTube channel to clear misconceptions about the vaccines by sharing his own experience with the virus. India's red ball specialist said, "I talk about the seriousness of the second wave of COVID and about the roller coaster of last few days my family experienced. And also, I stress about the importance of vaccines and how important it is for us to give a better tomorrow for our kids and how vaccines are the only solution. Speaking about what his own family went through when his children started showing symptoms, Ashwin said, "I was playing IPL and therefore my wife and my parents didn't inform me. But my kids got severe fever with diarrhoea for 3-4 days. In hindsight, my wife told me that she didn't know what to do and she gave medicines and despite that, the fever didn't reduce.""My whole family got infected. My father was doing well for the first five days, but then his oxygen levels dropped below 85. He had to get hospitalised since he had trouble breathing. His oxygen levels didn't improve for many days, despite being discharged. My father had taken both doses of the vaccine. He has comorbidities and I can guarantee you that the main reason for us being able to save him is because of the vaccine," he added. The Tamil Nadu offie, urged people to spare a thought for doctors and other healthcare professionals who have been at the frontlines in the battle against COVID-19. On the professional front, Ashwin is all set to feature in the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand. Ashwin has also been named in the following five test series against England.
