Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming stated that Ravichandran Ashwin could be utilized “in a number of ways” during the IPL 2025 season. The five-time champions secured the experienced spinner’s return at the mega auction on Sunday.
Ashwin was acquired by CSK for ₹9.75 crore on the opening day of the auction, with the team focusing on players whose skills align with the conditions at Chepauk, known for its slow and low-turning pitches.
Having debuted for CSK in 2009, Ashwin was part of their title-winning campaigns in 2010 and 2011. Over the years, he has also represented Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Rising Pune Supergiants, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals.
“It was a bit of a homecoming for Ashwin but he’s a world class bowler. Like Venky talked about, it’s not so much the price, you look at how someone fits in and there’s an emotional attachment of Ashwin with Chennai, so it is a nice fit,” Fleming said at a press conference.
He was seated alongside Kolkata Knight Riders’ managing director Venky Mysore.
“He still possesses an excellent skill set, and his bowling stats are outstanding. Although he’s in the later stages of his career, his experience is invaluable. Additionally, his contributions with the bat make him a versatile player, and we believe he can be utilized in various ways,” Fleming remarked.
CSK signed Noor Ahmad, ex-Gujarat Titans player, for ₹10 crore
Fleming stated that the decision targeted the team’s specific bowling strategies. He commented:
“(The choice of) Noor Ahmed was looking more at the middle to attack, so if we do get turning conditions, then we’ve got an opportunity to keep taking wickets,” he said.
“We’ve got (Matheesha) Pathirana at the end which is the death aspect and we’ve just identified that the way the game’s going, your bowling has to be really specific and you have to take wickets to slow teams down.”
“If you’re just trying to contain then some of the hitting power of players these days will just take the game away from you, so we’ve tried to be smart with our options given our retained players and add some variation which maybe we lacked a little bit last year,” he said.
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