'Mentally disturbing, very painful for me’: R Ashwin opens up on IPL exit
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Mentally disturbing, very painful for me’: R Ashwin opens up on IPL exit")
Ravichandran Ashwin Photograph: (AFP)
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will next face Delhi Capitals (DC) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday (Apr 11).
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has shared that he might have continued playing longer for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, but ultimately stepped away because he no longer had the “bandwidth” to keep going in the tournament. Ashwin, who called time on his IPL career in August last year, spoke about CSK’s difficult run in the 2025 season. The five-time champions ended that campaign at the bottom of the table and have also begun IPL 2026 with three consecutive defeats.
He further explained that even though he felt he could still play, he chose to step away so the team management wouldn’t have to worry about whether to keep him or not.
“I am watching the match from a neutral point of view, but remember that I recently spent a disappointing season with CSK, it was a disappointing season for me personally as well. Honestly, in my mind, I could have played more, because emotionally, I just did not have the bandwidth to play”.
“I don’t want to go there, it’s mentally disturbing. It was very painful for me. I don’t want to go there. I discussed a little, then I said, I started in Chennai, I am finishing in my hometown, it’s fine. I decided to retire myself as it would not have created a headache for them (the management) over whether to retain me or release. They would also save Rs 10 crore if I go. I am still disappointed. I had expectations, I had hope,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel “Ash Ki Baat”.
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Reflecting on CSK’s recent loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he noted that while he had expected RCB to win given their strength, he had hoped CSK would show signs of progress after their previous outing. Instead, he felt RCB delivered a dominant performance that sent a strong message to the rest of the competition.
“I had expectations from today. I know, I picked RCB to win, because they have strength. But, I banked on the improvement that CSK showed in the last game. I had a little faith on the fact that RCB were coming into this match after a break. The way RCB played, they warned everyone,” he said.
