‘Mentally disturbing, very painful for me’: R Ashwin explains why he quit IPL despite wanting to continue

“I don’t want to go there, it’s mentally disturbing. It was very painful for me. I don’t want to go there. I discussed a little, then I said, I started in Chennai, I am finishing in my hometown, it’s fine. I decided to retire myself as it would not have created a headache for them (the management) over whether to retain me or release. They would also save Rs 10 crore if I go. I am still disappointed. I had expectations, I had hope,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel “Ash Ki Baat”.

CSK splurged Rs 14.2 crore each on Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer at the 2025 auction. Ashwin felt that the younger crop of players in the CSK setup needed more time to grow and get better.

“These young boys, you have to give them good practice, you have to give them intensity, you have to give them atmosphere from here on. How are they going to do this?” he said.

Reflecting on CSK’s loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday, Ashwin said that while he had backed the reigning champions to win on Sunday, he had hoped to see his former side put in an improved performance.

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“I had expectations from today. I know, I picked RCB to win, because they have strength. But, I banked on the improvement that CSK showed in the last game. I had a little faith on the fact that RCB were coming into this match after a break. The way RCB played, they warned everyone,” he said.

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