Ravichandran Ashwin Reflects on MS Dhoni’s Captaincy: ‘He Would Take Me Off Bowling If Livid’

Ravichandran Ashwin Reflects on MS Dhoni’s Captaincy: Recently retired Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reckons that MS Dhoni became one of the greatest captains in world cricket because he was a firm believer in doing the basics right. Ashwin added that Dhoni would back the bowler wholeheartedly, but also admonish him if he bowled a loose ball to a new batter.

Speaking about his reunion with Dhoni in CSK's yellow jersey, Ashwin shared his insights on Dhoni as a captain on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast.

"It is a straightforward question to answer. In my head, I think he does most of the basic things right, and most of the other captains miss the basic elementary things, which makes the game look much more difficult for them," said Ashwin, who ended up playing 106 Tests, which saw him picking 537 wickets.

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"He would never, for example, if he gave the ball to the bowler, the first thing he would say, 'take your field and bowl to the field'. He hated that when a batter came to bat, and you would bowl a loose delivery," he added.

“He would never just hand over the ball. He would first say, ‘Take your field and bowl to it.’ If I bowled loose deliveries to a new batter, he would be livid. If I made the same mistake repeatedly, he wouldn’t hesitate to take me off bowling. That’s the basic essence of cricket that many forget today,” Ashwin explained.

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Ravichandran Ashwin will play with MS Dhoni again in IPL 2025 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). CSK bought him for a big INR 9.75 crore in the IPL 2025 auction, showing ample trust in him.

While playing for CSK, Ashwin has 90 wickets at an average of 24.22 and a strike rate of 22.51 in 94 IPL innings. Further, he can contribute with the bat and be flexible with his batting position, making him an all-round prospect.

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