MS Dhoni’s thought process indicates that Ashwin might mostly warm the bench for the remainder of IPL 2025.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made two significant changes in playing XI against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last night. They dropped Devon Conway and Ravichandran Ashwin to accommodate Shaik Rasheed and Jamie Overton.
CSK bought Ashwin for INR 9.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction and put ample trust in his abilities in the first half. They even used him in the powerplay, but the move didn’t work, forcing the team to look beyond him to make their bowling lineup more flexible.
Following the game’s conclusion, MS Dhoni explained that they wanted more pacers to strengthen their powerplay bowling, a reason to bring Overton. He also accepted that the team put ample pressure on Ashwin by bowling him in the first six overs.
“We made a few changes because we wanted to make sure our first six overs are slightly better because we need more bowlers in the first six. We were actually putting too much pressure on Ash – he has bowled two overs on wickets that were not doing a lot, and the batsmen were just expressing themselves.”
MS Dhoni’s thought process indicates that Ashwin might mostly warm the bench for the remainder of IPL 2025. He looks clear to use more overs of pacers in the powerplay, and the team has two quality spinners – Noor Ahmad and Ravindra Jadeja – to operate in the middle overs.
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Further, Overton can be an enforcer to fill the remaining overs in the middle, leaving no place for Ashwin. LSG had three left-handed batters in their playing XI last night, but CSK still preferred a fast bowler, which indicates how the team thinks.
Ashwin has five wickets at an average of 39.60 in six outings, conceding 9.90 runs per over this season. 30% of his overs came in the powerplay, where he went for 15 runs per over while taking only a solitary wicket, as the batters took him down almost every time.
Even in the middle overs, he was not too effective, taking four wickets at an average of 27 and an economy rate of 7.71. Hence, his exclusion was always on the cards after a number of underwhelming matches, even though CSK back players more than many other franchises.
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