3 reasons why CSK must drop R Ashwin from playing 11 after loss to PBKS in IPL 2025 

Veteran spinner R Ashwin called time on his illustrious international career in December last year. He returned to the field in the ongoing IPL 2025, playing for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

However, Ashwin has proved ineffective, picking up only five wickets in as many games in the season. His lackluster performances have also played a part in CSK losing four of their five games and being ninth in the points table. In their last outing against the Punjab Kings, CSK conceded 219 and suffered an 18-run loss.

On that note, let's take a look at the few reasons why the Super Kings must look to drop R Ashwin from their playing XI.

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#1 Batters have found a way to score runs against Ashwin

R Ashwin hasn't looked like his former self so far in the 2025 edition. Along with failing to secure enough purchase from the surface, Ashwin's control of lines and lengths has gone out of place. Instead of fighting the ball, the 38-year-old is often seen using sliders to control the run flow.

However, the tactic has not worked for him, and instead, he has been too full or too short sometimes. In the game against the Rajasthan Royals, Ashwin became too predictable with his lengths, as Nitish Rana clobbered him for two sixes and a four. Although he managed to dismiss him in the subsequent over, the left-hander managed to maximize the powerplay.

In his recent game against PBKS, Ashwin conceded 21 runs off his first over. The young batters, Priyansh Arya and Nehal Wadhera, managed to smack lusty blows against the spinner. In particular, a loose ball from Ashwin witnessed Arya finding enough time and room to free his arms and launch a six towards the deep extra cover region.

R Ashwin managed to pick two wickets in the next over, but he ended up with figures of 2/48 off four overs.

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#2 R Ashwin has failed to take enough wickets in Chepauk

Chepauk is R Ashwin's home ground and also a venue where he has bagged 52 wickets in 46 IPL appearances at an exceptional economy of 6.37. However, the track record doesn't quite align with Ashwin's performance so far in three games at the venue.

In the first game against the Mumbai Indians, Ashwin returned with figures of 1/31 off four overs. He then followed it up with figures of 1/21 off two overs against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In CSK's last home game against the Delhi Capitals, he gave away 21 runs off three overs while going wicketless.

Hence, R Ashwin has conceded 73 runs off nine overs at an economy of 8.1 in Chepauk, and picked up only two wickets.

With CSK clashing against the Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Friday, the franchise is expected to reconsider their decision on keeping Ashwin in the XI.

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#3 CSK can replace him with a batter with five bowling options

In their last game, the Chennai Super Kings played with six bowling options in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, Noor Ahmad, Ravindra Jadeja, Mukesh Choudhary, Khaleel Ahmed, and Matheesha Pathirana.

With the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube being inconsistent with their contributions, CSK are in dire need of a hard-hitter in the middle-order. In this area, they can look to drop Ashwin from the line-up and replace him with a batter, who can accelerate from the ball one.

Interestingly, Vansh Bedi can be included in the laying XI due to the batting exploits he displayed in the Delhi Premier League 2024. Notably, CSK will still be left with five proper bowling options, along with part-timers Shivam Dube and Vijay Shankar.