IPL 2025 Auction – CSK – Stephen Fleming on R Ashwin: ‘We can use him in several ways’
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming termed R Ashwin’s return to the franchise as “a homecoming” after buying him for Rs 9.75 crore (approximately $1.16 million). at the IPL 2025 auction in Jeddah. Ashwin was with CSK from 2009 to 2015. To acquire Ashwin, CSK had to beat Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a four-way bidding war.
The franchise also signed Afghan left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad for Rs 10 million (approximately $1.19 million). Mumbai Indians (MI) were also interested in Noor but stopped bidding when CSK raised the price to INR 5 crore. The Gujarat Titans (GT) exercised the right to match option, but when CSK raised the offer, they backed out. Having retained Ravindra Jadeja ahead of the auction, CSK look set to stifle teams on their spin-friendly home pitches.

“It’s like a homecoming for Ashwin, but he’s a world-class bowler,” Fleming said. “It’s not so much the price: you look at how someone fits in and there’s an emotional bond between Ashwin and Chennai, so he fits in well. He still has very good skills; his numbers are fantastic. Obviously he’s towards the latter part of his career, but for the experience he brings, he is skilled with the bat and we believe we can use him in several ways.

“The choice of Noor Ahmad looked more towards the middle [overs] to attack. So if we have turning conditions, then we have a chance to continue taking wickets. have [Matheesha] Pathirana at the end, which is the death aspect.

“We’ve just identified that, the way the game is going, your bowling has to be very specific and you have to use wickets to slow down teams. And if you’re just trying to contain, then part of the hitting power of these players is days will just take you away from the game. “So we’ve tried to be smart with our options taking into account our retained players and add some variation, which we maybe lacked a little bit last year.”

CSK also bought back the New Zealand pair of Devon Conway (Rs 6.25 crore) and Rachin Ravindra (Rs 4 crore). Fleming was asked if he was surprised not to see more fight for them, especially for Ravindra, who was New Zealand’s leading run-getter during their recent 3-0 Test series win in India.

“Yes, we were,” he said. “We thought about Rachin, given his success in the Test series that often counts, the performances leading up to an IPL… but obviously we experienced the IPL with him last year, and to acquire him at a price that I think is low, and continue his development. He could be a player with the same skills as Jadeja at the moment, but looking to the future, there could be an opportunity if his development continues, he is a very silky player and we are very happy to have him at that price. We are happy to have it and spot”.

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