"Whenever I Walk Out To Bat, People Assume...": R Ashwin's Swipe At Critics Questioning His Batting Promotion

As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) squared off in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday, producing another last-ball thriller. With 5 runs needed from the final delivery of the match, CSK skipper MS Dhoni couldn't dispatch the ball to the boundary, resulting in a 3-run victory for the Sanju Samson-led side. As the Royals added 2 more points to their tally, it was all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin who was named the Player of the Match for his all-round show.

Ashwin was promoted in the batting order, ahead of Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel and Jason Holder. Discussions took place during the innings break, with many wondering if Ashwin's promotion to No. 5 spot slowed the pace of runs for the Royals, At the end of the match, the veteran all-rounder fired shots at his critics, saying it wasn't him who impulsively decided to bat higher in the batting order himself.

"I surprise people I guess. Whenever I walk out to bat, people assume I just took that decision and came out, but that's a role given to me, we lost Sanju and I had to do a job. I am far better at judging my strengths, I take a few balls to get going. Every batting innings, I am padded up from the start.

"It's not an easy thing but it is good. I came off with good Test form. I feel I am able to get good grip and drop on the ball at the right lengths. If I was not able to do those things in the two years (with Punjab Kings) then I wouldn't be able to do it here. Success or failure, it has to be on my own terms," he said at the presentation cermeony.

After scoring 30 runs from 22 balls, Ashwin also bowled brilliantly with the ball, conceding just 25 runs in 4 overs while picking two important wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube.