I saw Henry Olonga’s tweet and mourned it too: Ravi Ashwin apologizes to Heath Streak
Chaithanya GCorrespondent
Posted - 2023-08-24T19:53:22+06:00
Updated - 2023-08-24T19:53:22+06:00
Just a day ago, reports of former Zimbabwean all-rounder Heath Streak drawing his last breath owing to his battle with cancer surfaced on social media. Former Zimbabwean bowler Henry Olonga was the first to take this to social media and pay tribute to former Zimbabwe's greatest all-rounder.
Nevertheless, Heath Streak confirmed that he is alive and doing well. While confirming the news on WhatsApp, he said that he was taken aback by the rumours of his death. He further added that he was deeply hurt by the news of his death and also wanted the source to apologize for falsely spreading the information.
On August 23, several cricketers, including the present and former, including Sean Williams, Scott Styris, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag took to social media and shared condolence after the rumour of Streak's demise spread like wildfire on social media portals.
"Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP @ZimCricketv legend. The greatest all-rounder produced. It was a pleasure playing with you. See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end.." said Olonga.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin, on Thursday, took to Twitter and apologized to Heath Streak for the inaccurate tweet from his side. He quickly took down the tweet after coming to know that Heath Streak is alive. Ravi Ashwin tweeted, "I saw Henry Olonga’s tweet and mourned it too. It came from a place of utter disbelief and sadness. Deleted that tweet but glad to know that you are doing fine. @HeathStreak3 Take care and apologies for the inaccurate tweet from my side."
Heath Streak was one of the top-rated cricketers during the playing days of his career. He represented the national cricket team in 65 Tests and 189 ODIs. He scored 1990 runs in Tests including 1 century and 22 fifties whereas he scored 2943 runs in ODIs including 13 half-centuries.
He was terrific with the ball as he bagged 216 wickets in Tests including 16 four-wicket hauls and 7 five-wicket hauls. On the contrary, he took 239 wickets in ODIs including 7 four-wicket hauls and a fifer.