Ashwin Reveals "Mentally Disturbing" CSK Return That Forced IPL Retirement

Ashwin, a CSK stalwart who featured in the side from 2008-15 as one of its lead players and had a homecoming season last year and won two IPL titles with Men in Yellow, was speaking on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'. After announcing his retirement from international cricket in early 2025 amid a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he pulled down the curtains on his IPL career too in August last year.

Speaking on the channel, Ashwin said, "I recently spent a disappointing season with CSK, it was a disappointing season for me personally. Honestly, in my mind, I could have played more (in the IPL), but I quit because emotionally, I just did not have the bandwidth to play while managing everyone else," Ashwin said.

"It was mentally disturbing, quite painful. I do not want to go there. I discussed a little and decided that I had started here and would end here too. Also, my retirement did not give CSK the headache of retaining me or releasing me as they got extra Rs 10 crores, which they could have used to boost their squad in the auction," he added.

CSK announced the signing of Ashwin for Rs 9.75 crores last year amid a lot of fanfare, reuniting him with franchise icons MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the hype did not translate into performances, as he could take only seven scalps in nine matches at an average of 40.42, with best figures of 2/41. His side ended the season with a wooden spoon, winning just four of their 14 matches.

Ashwin, who represented CSK, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant in his IPL career, ended with 187 wickets in 221 matches at an average of 30.22, with best figures of 4/34, and is the all-time fifth-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. He also contributed 833 runs in 98 innings at an average of 13.01, with a fifty as a batter.

The former all-rounder was critical of CSK's usage of a tall, powerful pacer, Jamie Overton, in the death overs for making him bowl wide yorkers even though they are not his strength. Overton had started off well after his introduction in the ninth over, giving 13 runs in his first two overs and getting Devdutt Padikkal clean bowled after a fluent fifty.

But during the penultimate over, he was taken down by a red-hot Tim David for 30 runs, including four sixes and a four.

"He bowled 2 overs, conceded 12 runs, took one wicket, and what was he doing? He was bowling hard lengths like a Test match. Tim David was not even able to touch the ball off the first three balls he faced against him. Please let me rant for a while, my energy is completely drained today. Everyone is coming around the wicket trying to bowl a wide yorker, what kind of a plan is this? For every batter, every bowler is bowling a wide yorker from around the stumps. Overton is such a tall bowler, the yorker is not his strength, you are waiting for him to bowl a wide yorker from around the stumps?" said Ashwin.

"You have to look at the strength of the batter and bowler while preparing a plan. If I ask a 10th-standard kid a Fourier series question, will he be able to handle it in the exam? If a bowler's strength is hard length, a yorker is just a variation for him. They set a wide yorker field for him, asking him to double bluff, Tim David smacked him for a six, the ball went to MG Road," he continued.

RCB posted a massive 250/3 after being put to bat first during their clash with five-time champions CSK at their home venue. Put to field first, Virat Kohli (28 in 18 balls, with two fours and a six) and Phil Salt (46 in 30 balls, with three fours and two sixes) could not capitalise on their starts, but massive bursts of aggression from Padikkal (50 in 29 balls, with six fours and two sixes), Patidar (48* in 19 balls, with a four and six sixes) and David (70* in 25 balls, with three fours and eight sixes) guided RCB to a massive score.

During the chase, CSK was restricted to 30/3. A 25-ball 50 from Sarfaraz Khan (with eight fours and two sixes) and a 57-run stand between Prashant Veer (43 in 29 balls, with six fours and six) and Jamie Overton (37 in 16 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) were a few moments of fight offered by CSK, who folded for 207 in 19.4 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3/41 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers, becoming the second bowler to get 200 IPL wickets. Krunal, Abhinandan and Jacob Duffy also picked two wickets.

- ANI