The legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who burst onto the scene while playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) a decade back, is hoping that he returns to his home franchise in the next IPL auction, but he is not entirely sure about it because of the dynamics of the mega auction.
In a question-answer interaction with the fans on his YouTube channel, Ashwin called CSK a primary school for himself and said that just like a kid starts his studies in a primary school and comes through the ranks completing his pre KG, UKG and LKG, he has had a similar sort of cricketing journey with CSK. It was his performances for CSK which were recognised by the national sectors before his international career took off.
Not only did Ravichandran Ashwin impress the national selectors with his performances at CSK, but he also helped CSK win plenty of Championships as well. With Ashwin in the squad, CSK won two IPL titles and two Champions League titles, and Ashwin was one of CSK’s main bowlers in all those campaigns.
CSK fans can’t forget the contribution of Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL 2011 final
The biggest highlight of Ashwin’s CSK career was his wicket of Chris Gayle in the IPL 2011 final against RCB, which completely turned the game in CSK’s favour. Gayle was the most in-form batsman in the tournament, and it was a massive challenge for CSK to stop him, even though they had already put a huge score on the board batting first.
The then CSK skipper MS Dhoni, who is still leading CSK to this date, brought Ashwin on to bowl the first over of the RCB innings and with a beautifully bowled stock off-spinning delivery, Ashwin induced an outside edge off Gayle which was held by Dhoni behind the stumps. It was a dismissal that put CSK well and truly in the driving seat, and they went on to win the final.
Since his departure from CSK, Ravichandran Ashwin has played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Delhi Capitals. While he has performed decently for both those franchises, Ashwin’s legacy as an IPL player is still for CSK, and the veteran is hoping for a homecoming as the mega auction comes close.
