Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin cut a frustrated and despondent figure after the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) returned to losing ways after recently stitching together back-to-back wins in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side slumped to a 10- run loss against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, on Saturday, April 18, to go back to square one.
CSK’s bowlers put in a massive effort to restrict SRH to 194-9 after conceding 75 runs in the powerplay. The batters, in response, particularly through the in-form Ayush Mhatre, matched SRH’s explosive start, posting 76 runs in the powerplay. However, the visitors lost the plot in the middle overs and the death overs after being in a prime position at the halfway mark.
The likes of Matt Short, Jamie Overton, and Shivam Dube struggled against the SRH bowlers as the innings progressed to register their fourth successive loss at the venue, dating back to the IPL 2019 Final.
R Ashwin outlined CSK’s blunders, which included Akeal Hosein’s omission, not giving Anshul Kamboj the brand-new ball, among others.
“The way Chennai played today, my heart is not beating that much for them today. I am quite upset. We will have to discuss their team selection. SRH have never scored 200 runs against CSK. Anshul Kamboj had given a masterclass in death bowling. Everyone were saying how poor CSK’s bowling is, but CSK are alive in this tournament, just because of their bowling,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“They defended two totals in Chennai, and even today, they gave the game to the batters on a plate. I will not even consider the mistakes of the batters. I want to ask just one question. You have Travis Head, who is not in form, he is not able to get the ball onto the middle of the bat, and you have Akeal Hosein, who dismissed Abhishek Sharma in the T20 World Cup. You cannot bring in someone just because he can bowl off-spin,” he added.
Matt Short ended with figures of 0-38 off three overs after conceding 25 runs while bowling his third over on the trot in the powerplay. The Australian all-rounder, sent in at the crucial No.4, struggled to ensure momentum in the middle overs of the run chase. Although he scored two boundaries inside the first seven deliveries he faced at the crease, his next boundary came after 18 balls.
“Fine, you picked Matt Short, I can agree with that call, and he should be praised for just giving away 13 runs in two overs. But it felt like he was brought in only for bowling against the left-handers. You cannot go into a game like this. If 7+5 = 12 in the book, you cannot go and write 10+5 = 12 as well in the exam. You kept Hosein out. The entire team scored 150 in 15 overs, and Short played 30 balls to score 34 runs. If he had scored 45 runs in that same time, we would have won the match,” Ashwin explained.
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