Balaji foresees Ashwin in an anchor role for Chennai Super Kings

Balaji foresees Ashwin in an anchor role for Chennai Super Kings

Just about seven months ago, in the first week of August, R. Ashwin walked out to bat at the top of the order for his side, the Dindigul Dragons, in Tamil Nadu Premier League final. It proved a master-stroke as he steered his team to its maiden title with a sublime half-century.

It was his third consecutive fifty at the top of the order, with the other two coming in crucial matches – the Eliminator and Qualifier 2. Throughout TNPL, Ashwin batted right at the top and scored 252 runs at an impressive strike rate of 151.80.

With the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League set to kick off on March 22, it remains to be seen how important ‘Ashwin the batter’ will be in his homecoming for the Chennai Super Kings.

Addressing the media ahead of the new season, JioStar expert L. Balaji felt Ashwin was underutilised as a genuine batter during his stints with various franchises in previous editions.

“Firstly, Ashwin is a very good student of the game. We all know what he is capable of, and we have witnessed it time and again. Even in the TNPL he stepped up and batted really well.

“He was underutilised as a batter by a few teams in the IPL.

“He should play a role similar to S. Badrinath for CSK, anchoring the innings if early wickets fall. Being technically sound he can hold fort at one end. I feel Ashwin will be getting a role if the middle-order fails, he will be pushed up the order to anchor the innings”.