Chennai Super Kings’ veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was dropped from the playing XI for the first time this season as CSK made a bold move ahead of their IPL 2025 clash against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Monday.
In a strategic shuffle, CSK skipper MS Dhoni announced at the toss that Jamie Overton and Shaik Rasheed would replace Ashwin and Devon Conway in the XI.
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Ashwin, who has featured in all six of CSK’s matches so far, failed to make the impact the team had hoped for. The off-spinner has managed just five wickets in the season, with an expensive economy rate of 9.90 runs per over. His form, coupled with CSK’s worrying five-match losing streak, appears to have prompted the decision to bring in Overton — a pace-bowling all-rounder who adds depth to both departments.
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Speaking at the toss, Dhoni explained the tactical shift: “We want to bowl first, there’s chances of dew here. The wicket gets better in the second innings. We’ve made a couple of changes — Overton and Rasheed come in for Ashwin and Conway. It’s important to have the right mindset, play with intent.”
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Interestingly, Ashwin was not named among the impact substitutes either, indicating a clear move toward a pace-heavy strategy on a pitch expected to assist seamers under lights.
Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants skipper Rishabh Pant confirmed one change, bringing Mitchell Marsh back in for Himmat Singh.
“We would have bowled first too. In Lucknow, it’s slower early on and gets better. Against CSK, we just don’t want to give them an opening,” said Pant.
CSK’s move to drop a stalwart like Ashwin signals a significant tactical recalibration as the team desperately seeks to halt their slide and get their season back on track.
LSG vs CSK Playing XIs:
Lucknow Super Giants XI: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Rishabh Pant (w/c), David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Digvesh Singh Rathi
Chennai Super Kings XI: Shaik Rasheed, Rachin Ravindra, Rahul Tripathi, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni (w/c), Anshul Kamboj, Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
Get the latest IPL 2025 updates on Times of India, including match schedules, team squads, points table and IPL live score for CSK, MI, RCB, KKR, SRH, LSG, DC, GT, PBKS, and RR. Don’t miss the list of players in the race for IPL Orange Cap and IPL Purple cap.
