Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's wife Prithi Narayanan on Friday took to social media to share a cryptic message on the morning of Day 1 of the opening Test between India and England at Headingley in Leeds.

For the first time in over a decade, India began a Test series without any of the iconic trio, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ashwin, in the playing XI. While Ashwin had retired midway through the recent Test series against Australia, both Kohli and Rohit announced their retirement from the longest format ahead of the ongoing five-match series against England. As a result, a relatively fresh-faced Indian side took the field, with debutant Sai Sudharsan among the new names looking to shape the future of the team.

Prithi expressed the emotional weight of this transition through an Instagram story that resonated with many long-time followers of Indian cricket. “Test match day for India, and I woke up with many mixed feelings. Have to find a different way to love it and unlearn the only way I knew to,” she wrote.