"How can we damage him?” - Former captain’s massive statement on R Ashwin after loss in RR vs CSK IPL 2025 match

Former England captain Michael Vaughan remarked that Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling style is unsuitable for modern T20 cricket amid the veteran's poor start to the season. The off-spinner has had a tough start to his second stint with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) so far. He has picked up three wickets in three matches at an economy of 9.90.

Ashwin had an eventful start to the 2025 campaign, where he finished with figures of 1-31 in the win over the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, since then, he has been taken on by the opposition batters, particularly in the powerplay.

Phil Salt had hammered Ashwin in the early stages of CSK's loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chepauk, while Nitish Rana took him down with a flurry of boundaries in the recent clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.

Vaughan opined that opposition batters do not have the same kind of respect for Ashwin as they did years ago.

"I just think he's probably in a new era. I guess a few years ago, they would have probably shown him a lot of respect. In team meetings, they would say, 'We can hit Ashwin for 24 to 28 runs, and give him too many wickets'. These guys do not think like that. It is like 'How can we damage him?' or 'How can we whack him?'," Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

"He is not ragging it square, they have probably seen all of his deliveries many times over, so maybe they are picking it out of the hand a little bit better, I just think it is a different approach in terms of mentality. It's like, 'Right, okay, we don't care who it is'. The names are irrelevant, it's just the ball that is coming down," he added.

CSK had broken the bank during the 2025 mega-auction to bring back R Ashwin to their setup after a decade. The veteran spinner was roped in for INR 9.75 crore, and he soon announced his retirement from international cricket.

R Ashwin finished with dismal figures of 1-46 in CSK's loss to RR in IPL 2025

The off-spinner was far from his best during CSK's recent loss to RR at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Nitish Rana's string of sweep shots resulted in Ashwin conceding 19 runs off his first over. He was taken on by the left-handed batter yet again in the middle overs, but the veteran managed to outfox him in the end to end the fine knock.

Ashwin did not have a campaign to remember in 2024, either, as he finished with only seven wickets in 15 matches. His strike rate of 51.89 was the worst he recorded for a season in the IPL since his debut in 2009.