Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was surprised by Ryan Parag’s decision to not give Ravindra Jadeja a chance to finish his spell despite a potentially brilliant performance in the first three overs of his spell. He has also accused Parag of poor captaincy because he trusted statistics more than his players.
Rajasthan Royals continue their unbeaten start to IPL 2026; However, Riyan Parag’s questionable captaincy has put them in trouble, as the team has now suffered two consecutive defeats. However, a common thread in both the matches was that Parag misbehaved with veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, limiting his role with the ball.
In the last two matches, Jadeja was not given the ball against left-handed batsmen, the general perception being that he is beaten for big sixes. However, former RR spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has become upset with Jadeja for not bowling his full quota of overs in the last game, and he has started hurting Parag with his constant statements.
Ravichandran Ashwin fails to find reason behind KKR vs Riyan Parag’s Ravindra Jadeja call
Rajasthan Royals team once looked invincible in every match due to the aggression of their top order; However, their campaign has been dealt a blow by two consecutive defeats. They became the first team to lose against KKR, a team that had not won after its first six matches this season.
Ravichandran Ashwin did not take any credit from Rinku Singh or Anukul Roy for how they managed to chase the total, but he has accused Riyan Parag of not trusting his bowlers, which will compromise their morale in the long run.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin claimed that having a senior bowler like Jadeja in the team and yet not using his final over, was a decision that never made any sense to him.
“You have a world-class left-arm spinner. Sure, the numbers and data may tell you something, but he has given only 9 or 11 runs in three overs and taken two wickets,” the former CSK star said.
“When Rinku Singh tried to hit, he was very close to getting out, but you thought, ‘I’m an off-spinner; I can put pressure on these two left-handers, but Jaddu won’t be able to do that.’ Although Ravi Bishnoi Can do it, you thought Jaddu wouldn’t be able to do it. “I’m telling you, that’s the mentality.”
“It is possible that Jaddu bowls and the batsman hits two sixes, but by not bowling him, you are not showing confidence in your bowling unit in the long run,” Ashwin said while lambasting the RR skipper.
“If Ravindra Jadeja had taken the wicket of Rinku Singh…” Ashwin extended his support to his former teammate
Ravichandran Ashwin, who has always believed in statistics, did not say that statistics should be discouraged, and Riyan Parag was right to consider bowling an off-spinner against left-handed batsmen; However, taking it away from Jadeja never felt right.
Ravichandran Ashwin claimed, “If a left-arm spinner knows he is not wanted against a left-handed batsman, he will not even try. As a captain or team management, if you are telling him, ‘This is not your job,’ then see what happens to the ball.”
Leg spinners have also not been in good form against left-handers but Parag used Ravi Bishnoi while Jadeja, who bowled an impressive spell of 2/8 in his three overs, was not used. What made it even more foolish was that he had already trapped Rinku Singh on one occasion, when Nandre Berger dropped a simple catch.
Ravichandran Ashwin further said, “You have won four out of five matches and in this party, if Ravindra Jadeja had taken that wicket of Rinku Singh, he would have been the man of the match today. If he becomes the man of the match, then Rajasthan Royals becomes a strong team with 7-8 players; the way your team looks then is very good.”
Ashwin calls out Riyan Parag for choosing inexperienced Brijesh Sharma over Ravindra Jadeja
He further claimed that such discrimination is mostly seen against bowlers and not against batsmen, who do not settle due to poor form. He gave the example of players like Nicholas Pooran or Rishabh Pant.
He claimed, “It is possible that you may lose, but understand that you must lose when one of your better bowlers bowls. Does it ever happen that you do not send Mitchell Marsh to bat? You do not send Rishabh Pant? You do not send Nicholas Pooran? It never happens.”
He then further added that despite Brijesh Sharma being inexperienced, Parag handed him two important overs, the 18th and 20th, which saw Jofra Archer also taken for runs by Rinku and Anukul. He might have switched to Jadeja, highlighting his experience with the ball.
“So, what I am saying is that if you can take Brijesh Sharma, who has no experience in the IPL, and give him the 18th and 20th overs in his first game, then you can definitely give him to Jadeja. You can give him to Bishnoi, but you can also give him to Jadeja,” Ravichandran Ashwin said.
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