“My heart goes out to people who are suffering. I’ve heard stories of entire families being wiped out because of the virus. Thinking of that, I just tell my other sister, Sudha, and my dad to be grateful that the rest of the family has recovered,” the 28-year old Indian cricketer, Veda Krishnamurthy shared as her family recovers from COVID-19, that includes the unfortunate loss of her mother and sister who succumbed to the virus recently.
Nine of her family members had contracted the virus. They battled well but amid all these the batter lost her mother and sister in Karnataka. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Veda out-busted her trauma that she has gone through over the period of last one month or so and said, “I’m a big believer in what destiny holds for you, but I really hoped that my sister would come back home. When she didn’t, I was completely destroyed. All of us were broken to pieces.”
Also, she stressed the importance of mental health after getting infected because she believes the mental psyche is the one that helps anyone pulled up to life. “My oldest sister, Vatsala, 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 home town, Kadur, about 230km 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,” she added.
The middle-order hitter did remorse hard on her sister’s loss and said, “She was my No. 1 fan. She watched most of my games. She used to be there on 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.” She is a firm believer of whatever destiny has been bestowed, but she really wanted her sister back.
She was the only one who escalated herself from being infected and affected that somewhat to a greater extent, helped her pull her family off from the state by serving and treating them well with all the medications prescribed and needed. “…I still had to put up a brave face for the rest of the family. What I had to do in those testing couple of weeks was learn to tune myself out of my grief. But it keeps coming back to haunt you,” said Veda Krishnamurthy.
She remembers her mother and goes on deep to add how her mother used to tell her that much before being her daughter, she is the nation’s daughter. Veda Krishnamurthy has always been the same favourite cricketer of her family, whether she hits a hundred or get hit at a duck. Speaking on her passion affected by the virus, she says, “A lot of people who are playing cricket currently know what mental health is, but it is also important to accept that if the system is not doing anything to offer you mental-health assistance, you can and must find the support for yourself if you can afford it. I’ve had mental health issues and I’ve sought support to resolve them myself.”
Such great a person she is that she doesn’t hold any grudges against those who didn’t turn up to even give a call or leave a message, instead she is thankful to all those who checked on her about her and her family’s health. It was unexpected for her to get a call from BCCI, but she did get one from the Council’s Secretary, who checked on her health and that of her family’s and also promised to give a visit when he will be in Bangalore.
