IPL 2018: Ravichandran Ashwin Leaves a Heartfelt Message Following KXIP's Exit

The way the tournament had shaped up in the initial stages, only a lunatic would have predicted that Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) would exit this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) after the league stage. The Ravichandran Ashwin-led side looked like the team to beat after they started the season with a bang.

Despite having a new captain and fresh core, the team mercilessly blew away oppositions. They won five of their opening seven games which put them in a good spot for a playoff spot.

However, things went haywire since then and the nightmarish second half of the season concluded in the worst possible manner for them on Sunday (May 20). Things changed dramatically after they resumed action following a one-week break after the first half.

In the last seven games of the season, they could win just a solitary game and exited the tournament without making it to the playoffs.

Recently, they had the chance to redeem for their poor show. A thumping win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would have helped them make it to the playoffs. However, they came up with yet another horror display to lose the game by five wickets.

Asked to bat first, they were reeling at 80 for five at one stage before a brilliant half-century from Karun Nair helped them post a respectable 153.

In reply, the Super Kings chased down the total with quite an ease in the end. Suresh Raina anchored the chase brilliantly, scoring an unbeaten fifty before Mahendra Singh Dhoni sealed the game with a trademark six in the last over.

Following the loss and the heartbreaking season, Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin took to Twitter to put a heartfelt message.

The off-spinner, who was leading a side in IPL for the first time, accepted that the team was not up to the mark in the second half.

At the same time, he also said that the there were a lot of learnings and positives from the season as he wrote:

“We had our moments in the first half of the tournament and not upto it in the business end, lots of learnings and positives from this campaign, looking forward to better things in the future and thanks to all those who supported us @lionsdenkxip this year.”

We had our moments in the first half of the tournament and not upto it in the business end, lots of learnings and positives from this campaign, looking forward to better things in the future and thanks to all those who supported us @lionsdenkxip this year. #IPL2018

— Ashwin ?? (@ashwinravi99) May 20, 2018