Be bold and drop him

Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth called for star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s dropping from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) XI after their embarrassing home defeat against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 11. Ashwin endured another poor outing with bat and ball in CSK’s eight-wicket loss to KKR.

Coming in at No.6, the 38-year-old scored a dismal seven-ball one in CSK’s batting innings. Ashwin was even worse with the ball, conceding 30 runs in his three overs without a wicket.

KKR chased down CSK’s woeful total of 103 with ease in a mere 10.1 overs, losing just two wickets. Ashwin has struggled throughout the season on his return to CSK, picking up only five wickets in six outings at an average of 39.60 and an economy of almost 10.

Talking about Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said (Via Cricket.com):

“Ashwin has been bowling TERRIBLY. If he keeps bowling like this, I’m not even sure if he’s going to be in the XI, let alone play well. Jadeja is not at his peak. I want CSK to remove Ashwin from the XI. I have been supporting Ashwin till now but not after this performance, I think CSK should be bold and drop him.”

Srikkanth urged CSK to replace Ashwin with leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal, saying:

“There’s a leg-spinner called Shreyas Gopal, right? Play him instead of Ashwin in the next match. Remove Ashwin from the team. It will work out. Gopal is a really good player, he can win matches. He has fire in the belly. I backed Ashwin for the longest time, but I can’t anymore. I have seen it all.”

CSK acquired Ashwin for a whopping ₹9.75 crores in the IPL 2025 auction, marking his return to the franchise after almost a decade. Meanwhile, Gopal was in excellent bowling form in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), finishing with 14 wickets in seven games at an average of 11.85 and an economy of 6.14.

“What message are you sending?” – Kris Srikkanth

Kris Srikkanth further called for CSK to play fresh faces in the XI instead of the tried-and-tested options in the upcoming games. The Men in Yellow have endured a horrific 2025 IPL season thus far, losing five out of their first six matches.

The latest loss against KKR was their fifth straight and a third consecutive at home, marking their longest losing streaks in a single season in both cases.

“Try someone new. Going back to the same people like Tripathi and Hooda, what message are you sending? CSK is the best among the worst teams. They don’t have batting, bowling, or fielding. If you feel the season is going to go terrible, try out new players. That’s how you got Ruturaj Gaikwad,” said Srikkanth.

CSK are currently ninth on the points table, with only the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) behind. They will look to snap their five-game losing streak in the encounter against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Monday, April 14.

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Venkatesh has been writing cricket news, listicle and feature articles for Sportskeeda for over a year. He loves cricket because of the diversity of the playing fields and its unparalleled nuances, which no other sport presents. He also enjoys the analytical and quantitative side of the sport, which originates from his MBA degree and 10 years of experience in the IT industry in companies like Infosys, Atos and TCS.

Venkatesh ensures proper research from reliable sources and social media trends to gather information, and adds his own dash of creativity to create insightful content.

He started watching cricket in the late 1990s, having been impressed with South Africa and New Zealand’s gentleman-like attitude. Domestically, he supports the Chennai Super Kings for their ability to bring the best out of their players owing to a friendly and conducive team environment.

He admires three cricketers the most – Brian Lara for his batting style, AB de Villiers for changing the paradigm of batting and MS Dhoni for his unique cerebral approach to field placings and batting. Along with cricket, Venkatesh also enjoys watching and playing tennis and basketball. In his free time, he finds pleasure in singing and watching movies and web series.

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Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran