Ravichandran Ashwin admitted that it was a big low point in his career when he was left out of the Chennai Super Kings side midway through the 2010 IPL season. But he felt what followed in the next 18 months, winning multiple titles with Chennai Super Kings and the Indian team, was a miraculous turnaround.
Back in the 2006-07 season, Ravichandran Ashwin made his first-class debut in a Ranji Trophy game for Tamil Nadu when they faced Haryana. The off-spinner impressed straightaway as he picked up six wickets in the game. He toiled hard in the domestic circuit and was pretty consistent for Tamil Nadu.
However, it was only in 2010 that Ashwin went on to become a got a real chance to impress in the IPL, and he grabbed his opportunity with both hands. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings in 2009 and played just two games. He didn’t bowl in his debut game but starred in his second win against Kings XI Punjab as he returned with figures of 2/13 from his four overs which helped CSK defend 116. That was the last league game, and Ashwin was left out for the semi-final fixture.
“I had been waiting in the wings for a good two years. I played two games in the 2009 IPL and did pretty well in the last game I played, but couldn’t play the semi-final,“
Ashwin was quoted saying in an interview to ESPNCricinfo (Himanshu Agrawal).
In 2010, Ashwin started in CSK’s playing XI straightaway as he played the first five games. He did well in the first two, bowling economically and taking a wicket each. However, in the next three, the off-spinner was expensive while the wickets dried up as well, and he managed just one in three games.
Eventually, Ashwin was left out of the side for a few games. However, once he returned to the XI, Ashwin had a massive impact and was one of the big reasons why CSK could make it to the semi-finals. He returned with 10 wickets in seven games and had a stunning economy of 4.75.
Hence, that started a remarkable turnaround, and for Ashwin, it was one of the most miraculous ones. He went on to register multiple title wins with the Super Kings. They won the IPL 2010 before completing the double with the Champions League T20 title later that year. He won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 with the Indian team before finishing it off with a win with CSK in IPL 2011.
“What happened over the next 18 months was even more miraculous for me – the Champions League double [in 2010 and 2014], the 2011 IPL win, and the 2011 World Cup victory were a dream for me, starting from a really low point in 2010 when I got left out of the squad. All I can say is that it really set up a very, very memorable career if I look back at it now,”
Ashwin further added.
Ashwin’s contribution in CSK’s win, especially in 2010, which saw CSK turn things around massively after being on the verge of being knocked out, was a massive one. His bowling in the powerplay was the standout. He had the second-most wickets in the powerplay in IPL 2010, picking up seven wickets at an economy of 5.00.
“A lot of people acknowledged the fact that I was doing one of the hardest jobs. I had zero idea that I would go on to do the same thing for the next ten years – bowling in the powerplay as a spinner.
But a lot of players – Albie [Morkel], Stephen Fleming [the coach], the trainer, and even Suresh – came up to me and said that it was an incredible tournament,”
Ashwin said.
