Ravichandran Ashwin Recalls The 2010 IPL Ordeal When He Was Dropped From The CSK Squad

Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the best off-spinners India has ever produced. The vile off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has been the bedrock of the spin-bowling department in Test match cricket for over a decade now.

Ashwin’s rise to fame started with his stint for the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings. The off-spinner was one of the cornerstones behind Chennai emerging as the most consistent side in the initial years of the cash-rich league.

But, it was not as if all was hunky-dory for the engineer-turned cricketer. In a recent podcast with Sanjay Manjrekar for ESPNCricinfo, Ashwin revealed how his axing from the CSK squad during the 2010 IPL came as a real shock to him.

“People thought that I think highly of myself but flattening of the curve happened when I played in the IPL. It was like a slap in the face like ‘listen boss you are not even here. I thought bowling in a T20 game was much easier than bowling in a first-class game,” Ravichandran Ashwin recalled.

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Ravichandran Ashwin opens up about his axing from the CSK squad during the 2010 IPL

Ashwin was taken to the cleaners by the likes of Robin Uthappa and Mark Boucher during a league-stage game of the 2010 edition. The off-spinner conceded 0-40 in his four overs and was subsequently dropped from the set-up.

“Robin Uthappa and Mark Boucher taught me harsh lessons as I bowled 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th over at RCB. That youth in me never told me that it was a challenge. I found it as an opportunity to pick wickets. “I didn’t get wickets but went for 40 or 45 runs and put my team into a hole as the next game went into Super Over and we lost it and I was dropped from the squad. It felt like a hard slap,” the Tamil Nadu tweaker said.

In those days, franchises used to release players, who were not part of the first-18, in order to save hotel costs.

“I was dropped, I vacated the hotel and was sitting at home. I thought that I deserved better as I was in the 30 probables for the 2010 World T20 in West Indies (he didnt make it on that tour),” Ashwin said.

Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that he was pretty disappointed with head coach Stephen Fleming for not backing him enough and for also not even having a discussion with the off-spinner post his axing from the squad.

Ashwin said: “Like I thought, why didn’t you back me (CSK). I did exceedingly well in the first three games and I had just had two bad games. Anybody can be hit for a couple of games.” He admitted having issues with Fleming who, he thought, had let him down.

“Actually, I had an issue with Stephen Fleming that he didn’t have a chat. I valued him so much and he didn’t have a chat. So I was sitting at home watching CSK games and making promises in my head that one day I will turn the tide,” Ashwin added.

Ravichandran Ashwin, however, made a brilliant comeback to the set-up. In his comeback game against Deccan Chargers, Ashwin claimed 2-13 in what eventually turned out to be a five-wicket defeat for CSK. The right-hander finished the season with 13 wickets at an average of 22.53 and he backed it up with another stellar campaign in 2011, where he claimed 20 wickets at an average of 19.40.

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