"Came from a place of utter disbelief and sadness" - Ravichandran Ashwin apologizes for inaccurate tweet on Heath Streak's rumored death
Ace Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin apologized on Twitter for inaccurately posting a tweet on the reported death of former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak.
Hours after Streak was deemed to have lost his battle with cancer at the age of 49 on Tuesday, reports resurfaced that he was alive, and news about his demise was greatly exaggerated. The fast-bowling all-rounder was reportedly on his deathbed in South Africa in May, according to Zimbabwe's former minister of education, sport, and culture, David Coltart.
Ashwin mourned Streak's rumored death with a tweet (deleted now) before posting his apology to the Zimbabwean today.
"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," Ashwin wrote.
The news of Heath Streak's death was initially revealed through several former teammates' social media posts.
His former Zimbabwe teammate Henry Olonga took to social media to post on the news and pay tribute to the great Zimbabwean.
"Sad news coming through that Heath Streak has crossed to the other side. RIP legend. The greatest all rounder we produced. It was a pleasure playing with you. See you on the other side when my bowling spell comes to an end," Olonga tweeted.
Current Zimbabwe Test skipper Sean Williams, among others, also paid a heartwarming tribute to the legendary cricketer.
However, Olonga later clarified via Twitter that Streak was alive and that the news had been "greatly exaggerated."
"I can confirm that rumors of the demise of Heath Streak have been greatly exaggerated. I just heard from him. The third umpire has called him back. He is very much alive folks,” he tweeted.
Heath Streak and Henry Olonga were teammates during Zimbabwe's famous Super Six run in the 1999 World Cup, which included India and South Africa in the league stages.
Streak also led the side in their Super Six run in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.
"It's a total rumor & lie" - Heath Streak
Heath Streak later stated his passing away as a complete rumor and demanded the source to issue an apology for the chain of events that transpired.
Streak played 13 years for Zimbabwe from 1993 to 2005 and captained 89 of his 254 matches across formats for the side. The 49-year-old remains their all-time leading wicket-taker in Tests and ODIs, with a combined 455 scalps.
"It's a total rumour & lie - I am alive & well, I am very upset to learn that something as big as someone apparently passing can be spread unverified especially in our day & age - I believe the source should apologise, I am hurt by the news," Streak stated.
Streak also chipped in with the bat, with almost 4,000 international runs under his belt, including a Test century against the West Indies.
He retired from international cricket in 2005 and enjoyed coaching stints with Zimbabwe, Scotland, Bangladesh, Gujarat Lions, and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).