Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reopened old wounds after Chennai Super Kings hammered Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday, April 5. The defeat was CSK’s third in a row this season, raising fears of another difficult campaign in the Indian Premier League.
Reacting to the loss on his YouTube channel, Ashwin recalled how he had a disappointing season with CSK himself, which ultimately led him to quit Indian cricket. The veteran spinner retired from all formats and decided to explore opportunities in overseas T20 leagues.
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Ashwin admitted that he still has a lot to offer both CSK and Indian cricket, but he felt mentally drained at the end of 2025.
“I had a disappointing season with CSK last year, it was disappointing for me personally as well. Honestly, in my mind I could have played more because emotionally I just didn’t have the bandwidth to play,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
However, he chose not to go into detail, describing the experience as deeply painful.
“I don’t want to go there, it’s psychologically disturbing. It was very painful for me. I don’t want to go there. I discussed a bit, then I said, I started in Chennai, I’m finishing in my hometown, it’s fine. I myself decided to retire because it wouldn’t cause a headache for them (the management) whether to keep me or release me. Expectations, I had hope,” added a frustrated Ashwin.
Chennai Super Kings decided to invest in youth ahead of the 2026 season and brought in Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer in the auction for a total of just over Rs 28 crore. However, the team has yet to find any rhythm and continues to struggle across departments.
“I had expectations from today. I know I picked RCB to win because they have power. But I was banking on the improvement CSK showed in the last game. I had a bit of faith in RCB going into this game after the break. The way RCB played, they gave everyone a warning,” he concluded.
The ČSK batting unit failed to surrender in all three matches so far. Their death bowling also faltered against RCB, scoring 250 runs – the highest total of the season so far.
Chennai Super Kings will now have a break of almost a week before returning home to face Delhi Capitals on April 11.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
06 Apr 2026 13:04 IST
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