Seems He Might Have Fought: Harbhajan Singh Expresses Disappointment Over Ashwin Being Dropped

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has weighed in on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) dropping Indian spinner R. Ashwin during the ongoing 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Notably, it has been a really poor season for CSK so far, where they have lost eight of the 10 games they have played. Ashwin has played seven of these games, but could take only five wickets at an expensive economy of 9.29. 

“Chennai did not select the team based on conditions. Had Noor Ahmad, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja played together against Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings could have won the match," Harbhajan said while speaking on JioHotstar. 

CSK had bought Ashwin in the auction for INR10 crore, and there was a lot of excitement among fans as Jadeja, Ashwin and Noor together were being considered as one of the most lethal bowling attacks in the competition. But the performances never came consistently once the season began.  

Harbhajan felt that while others haven’t performed as well, only Ashwin was dropped. He speculated that a fight had happened in the dressing room, due to which the off-spinner from Chennai was dropped from CSK. 

“You did not pay INR10 crore for Ashwin to bench him. I do not know why he is not playing, but it seems he might have fought with someone," Harbhajan added.

“He is not the only one who has not performed. Others are still playing despite their ordinary performances, but Ashwin is out of the team. He should have played against Punjab, as the ball was spinning.”

CSK are already out of the playoff qualification race in IPL 2025 with just two wins, and would hope to salvage some pride in the remaining games. They face RCB at the Chinnaswamy next on May 3.