IPL 2021: "He had a very middling tournament" - Aakash Chopra on R Ashwin

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has opined that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had a pretty ordinary IPL season by his very high standards.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Chopra lamented Ashwin's penchant for resorting to different variations rather than sticking to conventional off-spin as a major disappointment this season. Chopra said:

"Just 7 wickets in 13 matches. His economy is also above 7.50. He is trying all sorts of variations and not bowling off-spin at all. He recently got selected in the Indian T20 World Cup and we all want a player of his pedigree to do well. He had a very middling IPL, by his standards, a very ordinary IPL. Because, it's not only about wickets, it's about control. That's why the captain didn't even bowl him his full quota in plenty of games,"

Ashwin's penchant for bowling with a flatter trajectory or leg-spin was one of the biggest talking points of Delhi's campaign this season. The off-spinner consistently underwhelmed with his lack of control in important periods of the game. It was fitting that their campaign ended with Ashwin missing his attempted carrom ball and Rahul Tripathi smashing him for a six.

They didn't play according to the game situation: Aakash Chopra on Delhi Capitals' batting order

Another aspect of the Capitals' campaign that proved to be their undoing, according to Aakash, was the shot-selection of the Indian quartet of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.

Chopra reckoned that the Indian core of the Delhi batting unit did not give enough respect to the conditions on offer and the game situation. Chopra said:

"Pant, Iyer, Shaw, Dhawan - played some useless shots, threw their wickets away, and didn't play according to the game situations. It left a lot to be desired, it looked like they weren't respecting the conditions and situations. And if you don't do that, you'll be found wanting and that is exactly what happened with them."

For the second time in their history, the Capitals lost both qualifiers to squander yet another opportunity to claim the elusive IPL title.