India’s middle-order bat Veda Krishnamurthy had a horrific time in the last two months as she lost her mother and elder sister in quick succession to COVID-19. Krishnamurthy came out in the open to express herself and also stressed on the importance of dealing with this lethal virus.
In a chat with Annesha Ghosh of ESPN Cricinfo, the 28-year old right-hand bat, discussed her relationships with her mother and sister as well as how her family came to terms with their demise which was just a couple of weeks apart from each other.
Veda emphasized, “Mental strength is important. My oldest sister, Vatsala, who was 14 years elder to me, had panic attacks before she passed away from Covid. My mom might also have panicked, because the night before she died of the virus, in my hometown, Kadur, about 230 km north-west of Bangalore, she learned that everybody else in the family had tested positive, including the kids. I don’t know, but maybe that affected her.”
Talking about her relationships with her mother and sister, Veda stated, “My mom and sister were a huge part of my life, and they will always remain so. Everything I am is because of them. My mother used to tell me, “You are the daughter of the nation first and you’re my daughter later.” Whether I scored a hundred or got out first ball, it didn’t matter to them – I was their favorite cricketer. They were my biggest fans. They watched most of my games. I remember my sister used to be there at the ground, bringing me and my friends biryani in big boxes. I don’t know how it’s going to be when I get back on the field knowing she’s no longer around.”
Before the Krishnamurthy family was grappled with COVID-19, all they knew was that if you are affected by the virus, you can stay at home, do your isolation and take precautions – that will be fine. However due to lack of knowledge, just like the majority of the households in India, they lost two or three days in the beginning when the mother-sister duo were isolating in the house. During that time, Veda started educating her friends and their families, who were affected, on ways to get medicine, the rules to follow to obtain beds, and what to do when your oxygen saturation drops to a critical level. Nine members of her family had been infected in different ways, so she started sharing her experiences with people to try to help them make better judgments.
Recovering from the irreversible damage, Veda elucidated, “I was completely destroyed. All of us were broken to pieces and I still had to put up a brave face. I’m just trying to keep myself occupied doing whatever I can. Ever since I’ve come to Kadur, I’ve tried to make sure that Dad is not by himself, that he’s occupied with card games or watching movies, and things like that.”
Veda signed off, “I’m not upset with people who didn’t call me or message me. I thank everyone who checked on me. I did get a call from the BCCI secretary, which I didn’t expect, to be honest. He asked about me, my family. He said when he is in Bangalore, he will visit me. It was nice of him to call me.”
This article is the summary of the original article published on ESPN cricinfo
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
