I was unable to sleep for the next 8-10 days: Ravichandran Ashwin said after he backed off from the IPL midway

Delhi Capitals (DC) off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up on the turmoil in his mind after his family members contracted COVID-19. The veteran cricketer revealed that he was playing IPL matches without any sleep, and eventually decided it would be better to quit the tournament midway.

On April 26, Ravichandran Ashwin put out a post on Twitter to inform that he would be taking a break from IPL 2021. He wrote:

“I will 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.”

In a vlog on his YouTube channel on Thursday, Ravichandran Ashwin shared in detail why he decided to quit IPL 2021. The office explained:

“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. 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.”

Ravichandran Ashwin added that he was thinking of returning to the tournament, but then IPL 2021 itself got postponed. The Tamil Nadu cricketer added:

“I thought there won’t be any cricket for sometime. Even the IPL got postponed. In between, when people in my house started recovering, I thought of coming back into the IPL and that’s when the IPL was called off.”

In his vlog, Ravichandran Ashwin also took the opportunity to clarify the term ‘bio-bubble breach’, which is being referred to as the reason for IPL 2021’s suspension. The off-spinner explained:

“Many of you would have heard about the term bio-bubble breach. It doesn’t mean someone from outside has entered the bubble. This is a virus and we still don’t know how it enters. So, a bio-bubble breach here refers to bubbles being held like in a sanctum and someone inside that very bubble getting infected. So, there must have been a breach was the assumption and that’s what they call a bio-bubble breach.”

Ravichandran Ashwin played five matches in IPL 2021 and managed only one wicket before returning home to support his COVID-hit family.