R Ashwin in press conference after CSK vs RR match© BCCI/Sportzpics
As Ravichandran Ashiwn walked in to bat at the No. 5 spot, many questions were raised over Rajasthan Royals’ strategy against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League 2023 clash on Wednesday. Ashwin ended up scoring a 22-ball 30 but there were a few who wondered if his promotion in the batting order derailed RR’s pace of scoring runs. Ashwin was asked about his views on the subject in the press conference, and the Royals all-rounder left the reporter stumped with his response.
There are those who feel Ashwin went out to bat ‘on his own suggestion’. However, the veteran cricketer found this assumption quite silly.
“Sir, I don’t understand, how can I walk into bat on my own suggestion? If I could do that… I mean I am surprised people do tend up believing that I pad up and I run in. It never works like that. I don’t discuss. To be fair, every single match that we play, I am padded up, either as a showpiece or a batsman. I am just padded up, I am ready to go in anytime,” Ashwin said in the press conference.
“If you put a batter in that position and ask them to go at any order, they might not willingly do it for any position. But for someone like me who doesn’t bat as much throughout the season, I am glad that I am getting an opportunity at least to pad up,” Ashwin elaborated.
Ashwin was named the Player of the Match for his all-round show against former side CSK. The 37-year-old didn’t just score a 22-ball 30 but was also pivotal in stopping Chennai’s run flow in the middle overs.
With the ball, the Tamil Nadu-born off-spinner picked up 2 wickets for just 25 runs in his quota of 4 overs. With the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube, Ashwin brought Rajasthan back into the game, just when it looked like Chennai were cruising forward in the equation.
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