Ashwin recalls how Dhoni’s trust helped him bowl CSK to CLT20 2010 title

No team in Indian Premier League (IPL) history has lifted the IPL title more times than Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have, but, to go along with five IPL titles, CSK also have two Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) titles to their name. 

The first of the two CLT20 titles came back in 2010 in South Africa, and Ravichandran Ashwin was CSK’s lynchpin in that campaign, with the off-spinner bagging the Player of the Tournament award thanks to finishing with 13 wickets at an average of 11.69.

But that same campaign saw Ashwin endure a somewhat low point in his career, in the game against Victoria Bushrangers, where he got tonked for 23 runs in the super over.

“We were playing Victoria Bushrangers in South Africa [in the Champions League]. So, the game went to a super over. We had a team huddle, and I raised my hand to bowl the super over,” Ashwin recalled that game, during the launch of his book ‘I Have the Streets - A Kutti Cricket Story’.

“The first ball I bowled was decent. The next ball, David Hussey, played a brilliant shot. Then I started bowling quick and conceded 23 runs, and we lost the game.”

Ashwin, at that point, was still young and inexperienced — he only had one full IPL season under his belt — and could easily have not been given the crunch overs going forward, given what happened in the Victoria clash.

But the off-spinner revealed how the trust skipper MS Dhoni showed in him spurred him on to win the Player of the Tournament award.

“After the match, Dhoni said just one thing, ‘You have the variations, you should’ve backed yourself’, and that he continues to say even today. I see a bit of a fatherly figure when he says that. 

“I failed him miserably that night, but he trusted me the next game and gave me the 17th over. And it was a game-defining over, I got two wickets and ended up as the player of the tournament,” he revealed.

In the same event, Ashwin spoke about the influence of street cricket, and how it’s shaped him as a cricketer.

“Street cricket made me the person I am today,” Ashwin said.

“A lot of my batting when it comes to playing square or breaking the wrist, is because there were runs only on the offside while playing in my street. So if I hit it straight, the ball will go into my neighbour’s house, and that means you’re out.”

He further spoke about the influence of his father, Ravichandran, and said how the interactions he had with his dad ultimately ended up helping him in his journey.

“My father used to question everything and annoy me. The most peaceful time of the day was between 4 pm and 6 pm when I played outside. He picked this period to ask how I did my exams. The quality of his digging deep helped me big time. That inspired me to get inquisitive, to a point where I didn’t care about the reaction to my question.”

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