R Ashwin's game evolution post IPL 2024: The inspiration behind widening his repertoire

Veteran Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has been focusing on expanding his batting skills following his impressive performances in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2024. While he has made a name for himself as a top-notch all-rounder in Test cricket, Ashwin has not had many opportunities to showcase his batting abilities in white-ball cricket on the international stage. Nevertheless, he has demonstrated his worth with the bat in the IPL on several occasions. Ashwin is now determined to further develop his batting prowess and contribute even more effectively as an all-rounder in all formats of the game.

Ashwin worked hard on his batting after IPL 2024 and added more shots to his arsenal to widen his game with a focus on targetting square of the wicket. The veteran all-rounder played a match-winning knock in the final to help his team Dindigul Dragons win the TNPL 2024 title. He scored 52 runs off 46 balls, which was laced with a four and three sixes.

Ashwin scored 252 runs in 10 TNPL matches this season at an impressive strike rate of 151.80. He scored three fifties, including successive ones in key matches – the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the final.

"Obviously, in the last IPL, I felt like I needed to widen my game and widen my horizons square of the wicket because I know I can hit the ball down the ground, and I can use my feet. Do I want to explore other options is something I had to ask myself. So if I can ask that question and if I can find an answer, it gives me a new avenue to explore and keep myself interested in the game," Ashwin said while addressing the media ahead of the TNPL 2024 final.

Dindigul Dragons faced defending champions Lyca Kovai Kings in the final and managed to dominate them to win their maiden title. Dindigul completed a chase of 130 courtesy a solid half-century by Ashwin.

Ashwin hit a four and three sixes besides stitching a 65-run stand for the third wicket with Baba Indrajith (32 off 35 balls).

Having scored 46 runs for the loss of two wickets in the powerplay, the Dindigul middle-order relied on the composed Ashwin to get the got job done with 10 deliveries to spare. Earlier, with the ball, Ashwin finished with 0/13 for Dindigul, while Vignesh (2/15) and Chakravarthy (2/26) were the standout performers.

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