‘Sometimes things are not meant to be’ – Ravi Ashwin on his IPL stint with Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) shelled out a significant INR 7.60 crores to bag Ravi Ashwin in the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was immediately appointed as their skipper after the tweaker moved from the Rising Pune Supergiant. However, after KXIP’s decent start in the first-half of the tournament, Ashwin lost the plot and his team failed to qualify for the playoffs.

The story was pretty similar even in 2019 when KXIP couldn’t make the top four despite having some of the big names, Chris Gayle, KL Rahul and Mohammed Shami in their ranks. Recalling his stint with the franchise, Ashwin said that he gave his “heart and soul”, but couldn’t make things work.

“I put my heart and soul into what I could for Kings XI. Sometimes things are not meant to be. The game is constantly led by batsman, maybe because bowlers do a lot of work and not able to take 360-degree view of the game – especially when it comes to Test format. That’s one of the reasons why batsman leads the side,” Ashwin was quoted as saying to Sportskeeda.

Shane Warne had a very sharp cricketing brain, says Ashwin

As far as individual performance is concerned, Ashwin picked up 25 wickets from 28 matches. The veteran also managed to play a couple of handy knocks for the Punjab team lower down the order. The 33-year-old also is an ardent follower of the legendary Shane Warne, who he reckons has a “sharp cricketing brain”.

“But I think that bowler who knows how to set his fields, how he gets his plans right and he can be a good captain. One person I would have loved to watch leading a side was Shane Warne. He had a very sharp cricketing brain, showcased that for Rajasthan Royals in the first IPL,” he added.

After the lacklustre outings, Ashwin was traded to the Delhi Capitals (DC) for the 2020 season. Ashwin understands that in a platform like the IPL, one has to perform. “One thing I realized was that I became richer as an individual after leading for two seasons at Kings XI Punjab, it is a proper business show where you got to deliver,” Ashwin added.