Ashwin: My CSK Exit Was Mentally Disturbing, Very Painful for Me
Ravichandran Ashwin held nothing back. After watching RCB thrash CSK by 43 runs in IPL 2026 on April 5, the retired spinner opened up on the chapter of his career that still hurts — his final, uncomfortable stint at Chennai.
RCB had posted a mammoth 250/3. Tim David, Rajat Patidar, and Devdutt Padikkal torched the CSK bowling attack in a 19-six assault. CSK’s chase never got going.
Ashwin’s verdict on his own exit was raw. “I don’t want to go there — it’s mentally disturbing. It was very painful for me,” he said. “I decided to retire myself as it would not have created a headache for them. They would also save Rs 10 crore if I go. I am still disappointed. I had expectations, I had hope.”
It was a bombshell. And he wasn’t done.
“The way RCB played, they warned everyone,” he said. His message to CSK’s struggling young squad: “You have to give them good practice, you have to give them intensity, you have to give them atmosphere from here on.”
CSK have now lost three straight. The fortress looks fragile.