Ravichandran Ashwin takes the blame for not steering Kings XI Punjab to IPL playoffs

Ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin might not be as favored by the national side but the 33-year-old is one of the frontline players in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After serving long in Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and playing for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the off-spinner is all set to make his debut for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the next edition.

Having played the IPL since 2009 and missed only one edition (2017), Ashwin has so far played in 139 games in which he has picked 125 wickets at an average of 26.48. Ashwin was picked as the captain for the KXIP in 2018 and he did the job for two consecutive years. However, he failed to lead the Punjab side to the playoffs even once even though it had a great opportunity to do so in 2018 but a late-phase collapse saw it outside the fray.

Ashwin, who made the headlines in the 2019 season with his act of Mankading Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler, made a high-profile move to the DC but without regretting his stint with the 2014 finalists.

Ravichandran Ashwin says his stint with KXIP was ‘fantastic’

“My stint at Kings XI was fantastic to say the least. The experience enriched me in every possible way. I was given the role of captaincy, that was new boundaries I explored. Within my purview, I thought I did a fair job, if not a very good job, but these decisions were not mine entirely,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.

The Tamil Nadu cricketer revealed that the KXIP owners felt he could not meet the expectations as the side failed to make it to the last four. Ashwin didn’t complain about it and took the blame on himself.

“There are other factors, the owners did feel I haven’t delivered which is true because I could not take the team through to the playoffs in both the seasons. You can give excuses why we could not do that, but I am someone who takes it under my chin and admits that ‘yes I couldn’t deliver.’ The trade was more initiated rather than my doing,” Ashwin, who has played 232 T20s to claim 235 scalps, said.

For the veteran, the 2020 IPL will be key for a good show in the tournament could see him making a surprise comeback to the Indian team headed for the T20 World Cup in Australia later in the year.