“Stop him from bowling in the powerplay” - Former India opener’s huge statement on CSK star after loss to RR in IPL 2025

Former India opening batter Krisnamachari Srikkanth has suggested a plethora of changes for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to get their campaign on track, including a change of role for veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The five-time champions have one win from three matches in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), and recently lost by six runs to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Guwahati.

CSK have made several unexpected and questionable decisions in the early stages of their campaign. Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has dropped to No.3 in the batting order, while Deepak Hooda was preferred to Vijay Shankar initially. The franchise's highlight was their newly forged spin trio of Noor Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin, but the finger spinners are lagging considerably.

Ashwin, roped in for ₹9.75 crore to begin a second stint with CSK, finished with decent figures of 1-31 during the win over MI at Chepauk. But in the last two matches, he has conceded 68 runs in six overs with two wickets to his name. He was introduced into the attack inside the powerplay on both occasions, and it turned out to be the launching pad for the opposition to pile massive totals.

Ashwin's carrom balls were ineffective against Phil Salt during the clash against RCB, while Nitish Rana took him down with a string of sweep shots in the following contest.

Srikkanth opined that CSK do not need to axe Ashwin from the playing XI altogether but should club his overs with the remaining two spinners in the middle overs.

“Conway has to come in place of Jamie Overton and also bring in Anshul Kamboj into the XI. With regards to Ashwin, don’t drop him, but stop him from bowling in the powerplay. Between 7-18th over he can be effective, with Jadeja and Noor Ahmad, they can easily slip in 10 overs at least. I will drop Tripathi and bring in Kamboj and then Conway in place of Overton,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel (via The Indian Express).

Ravichandran Ashwin is not unfamiliar when it comes to bowling with the fielding restrictions. His career economy in the powerplay is a respectable figure of 7.13 in T20 cricket. However, the modern-day approach employed by the opposition is putting the veteran bowler in a difficult position, forcing him to adopt defensive lines and lengths.

---

CSK to face Delhi Capitals next on April 5

CSK return to their home turf after recording a loss in their first away fixture of the season. They will face the unbeaten Delhi Capitals (DC) on Saturday, April 5.

The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side suffered a humbling loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their last home game. The last time they lost consecutive home matches was during the 2012 campaign.