'Had an issue with Stephen Fleming' - Ravichandran Ashwin recalls being dropped after two bad games with CSK in IPL 2010

Considering the level of competition in the IPL, the fate of a player gets decided only in a couple of matches. A player can be shown the exit door if he fails to deliver in consecutive games as IPL franchises are stacked with players who can replace him.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who has performed exceedingly well for the national side, recalled an incident when he realized that bowling in T20s was not as easy as he assumed it to be. The off-spinner recalled an IPL memory where reality hit him like a ‘hard slap’.

During a podcast with cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar for ‘ESPNCricinfo’, Ashwin spoke about how the 2010 IPL with the Chennai Super Kings affected him. Ashwin recalled the 2010 IPL when he was dropped from the CSK side after having two bad games. According to the off-spinner, that acted as a ‘hard slap’ for him because he felt that coach Stephen Fleming didn’t back him enough.

“People thought that I think highly of myself but the 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,” Ashwin recalled.

‘It felt like a hard slap’: Ravichandran Ashwin

It was a game against Royal Challengers Bangalore where Robin Uthappa and Mark Boucher hammered the off-spinner. “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,” said Ashwin.

“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,” he added.

Ashwin also revealed that he also had an issue with coach Stephen Fleming as he didn’t have a chat with him. After being dropped, Ashwin recalled that he was sitting at home watching CSK games while making promises that he’ll turn the tide one day.

“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 said.