"He is like let me get through these four overs" - Former India cricketer slams R Ashwin for playing it safe in CSK's glaring loss to MI in IPL 2025

Former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth lambasted veteran bowler Ravichandran Ashwin's defensive bowling spell in the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) humbling loss to the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2025 Indian Premier League. The off-spinner conceded only 25 runs off his four overs, but did not have any wickets to show for at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 20.

Ashwin was recently dropped by CSK in the away win against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). The senior bowler was not part of the initial playing XI in the match against the arch-rivals too, but he came in as an impact sub at the start of the second innings.

Ashwin was brought into the attack inside the powerplay itself to contain the left-handed Ryan Rickelton at the top. He conceded only one boundary off his two overs during the fielding restrictions, but the other bowlers leaked runs to give MI an early advantage in pursuit of the 177-run target.

The off-spinner bowled the rest of his overs in the middle phase, as the pair of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav dealt with him relatively easily, before taking on the other bowlers.

Despite being the most economical bowler on show by a fair margin, Srikkanth slammed Ashwin's impactless display.

“What is Ashwin doing? He has turned all defensive. He is not looking to take wickets. He is like let me get through these four overs. He never went for wicket-taking. Just bowling safe,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel ‘Cheeky Cheeka’ (via The Indian Express).

“What was the idea of taking Ashwin today? To get two wickets and win the match. But what did he do? He bowled safely in the powerplay. It didn’t matter to CSK at all. MI also were sensible, taking singles off him. You have to understand the match situation, IPL situation – and bowl accordingly,” Srikkanth added.

MI chased down the target with more than four overs to go in order to seal a third successive win in IPL 2025 after a rocky start to the campaign.

R Ashwin has taken only 7 wickets in his last 10 IPL matches

The veteran spinner had endured a barren run in IPL 2024, where he failed to take a wicket in six consecutive matches. Despite finishing the season on a high with some wickets under his belt, the same wicket-taking struggle has crept into the ongoing season as well.

His bowling average read a shocking 51.89 in IPL 2024, the figure has not improved much, as it currently stands at 44.60 after seven appearances in IPL 2025.