IPL 2025 Auction – CSK – Stephen Fleming on R Ashwin: ‘We can use him in several ways’

“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.”

“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”.