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Follow UsCaptain, leader, voice and evolution.
If you had asked anyone to connect the dots in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), the answer would naturally be Shahrukh Khan. After all, his side, Lyca Kovai Kings, have dominated the league like it is child’s play.
But this year, something different happened at the TNPL; a side other than Kovai or Chepauk won the tournament for the first time over the last four editions. And that captain, leader, voice and man of evolution is none other than Ravichandran Ashwin.
One thing that has remained constant over the years about Ashwin, the cricketer, is the word ‘evolution’.
However, that word has been associated with his bowling. Be it his deployment of a carrom ball, his use of angles, his alteration of action, or his modification of his run-up to create an illusion, Ashwin has been at the forefront of evolution.
But batting?
Eh, Ashwin dhane, avan classical batter, avlo laam adika maatan machan (Ashwin only, no, he’s a classical batter, he won’t really hit, bro).
That was the talk of the town.
Over 42% of Ashwin’s runs from the last two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons (2023 and 2024) were in the mid-wicket region, where he would go about his things with a slog sweep or whipping out a powerful pull over that region.
Only once in the last two years did Ashwin whip out a powerful reverse sweep in the competition. It was nothing fancy, just pure cricketing shots, which also meant that the teams knew that he wouldn’t access many different sides of the ground.
"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,” Ashwin told ESPNCricinfo ahead of the TNPL final.
TNPL 2024 was the best opportunity, given that India didn’t play a single Test, and Ashwin’s repository wasn’t required for India’s limited-overs scheme of things. So, he had the entire season to work on his skills.
Normally, it isn’t that tough for a cricketer, but we are talking about a 37-year-old who is at almost the fag end of his career, trying to learn things that he has never quite done consistently.
That’s when Ashwin took it upon himself to show the world that he was no longer a one-trick pony with the bat. To his dismay, he started the tournament on the worst possible note, scoring 5 and 6 against Trichy Grand Cholas and Salem Spartans.
But when faced with the champion side, CSG, the all-rounder, put on a show, scoring a 20-ball 45 laced with four sixes.
What’s so special about that?
Well, multiple things. Ashwin’s strike rate at 225 showed that he had definitely upped his intent from his IPL 2024, where it hovered around the 116 mark, his lowest strike rate in an IPL season since IPL 2021.
Alongside that, what made it audacious was his choice of shots: a reverse sweep against the turn of Rahil Shah’s bowling, a gasping cover drive off Abhishek Tanwar’s bowling for a six and, of course, the hit straight down the ground towards the sight screen.
It wasn’t a one-off incident but an indication of what was about to hit the viewers. Not only did they have to change their opinion on Ashwin’s batting prowess, but they also attested to his power-hitting abilities, which were on exhibit during the playoff stage when he scored 57, 69* and 52.
What Ashwin did considerably well throughout the TNPL season was that he found different regions to score his boundaries, with almost every region being in double-digits with the exception of the third-man and fine-leg.
If his reverse sweep against Rahil was great, his reverse and switch hits against two of Tamil Nadu’s best left-arm spinners — R Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram — were heavenly, so much so that it led to Sai Kishore even laughing at the audacity.
He effortlessly switched his grip and played around with the fielder in the short third-man region to pinch two boundaries in two deliveries and four in the innings. It wasn’t just a shot. It was a statement, with almost 8% of his season runs coming off reverse sweeps.
Ashwin wasn’t hitting it with the turn; he was consistently hitting it against the spin, often mauling the left-arm spinners in the long-on region, where he struck at nearly 281.8 playing the on drive. Whenever the bowler turned to aggression and tried to bounce him, Ashwin was one step ahead, employing the pull shot brutally.
It wasn’t just bursts or cameo either; whenever Ashwin struck, he struck big, ensuring that the Dindigul Dragons didn’t get too overwhelmed by the situation, considering the young setup at their disposal.
Ashwin’s 252 runs in the season came all guns blazing, with 14 sixes and a strike rate of 151.8. It sounds outrageous even to imagine that Ashwin began this year’s TNPL with just 11 sixes across five seasons.
Such was his intent throughout the season that he was not afraid to take the responsibility to hit out the toughest bowler in the opposition camp. That skyrocketed his stocks as a batter.
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But the real success of Ashwin’s season was much more than just his batting.
It was how he handled the task of captaining such a young side with a few recognised players at his disposal. While there were outbursts at certain junctures of the tournament, overall, the campaign testified to Ashwin's untapped potential.
"Failure and success are very, very normal, and people become better only through failures,” is how Ashwin showed that his thoughts were with abnormal clarity for a man who often dwells between thousands of his bowling variations.
For Vimal Khumar, Bhoopathi Kumar, P Vignesh, and S Dinesh Raj, who are all in their early 20s or lower, Ashwin stood as more than a central figure; he was a guiding light. The fact that they were going to train under someone who understood the ups and downs of the game was a blessing in disguise.
“I wanted to open [batting] in this tournament. We didn't have a head coach. I was practicing myself. When the wickets were slow, some of the assistant coaches told me to try it out. I had a great time going all around TN and contributing. Many players have improved and broken through,” Ashwin said in the post-match presentation.
Ashwin had a role too many to play: not only to guide them but to walk the talk, handle the pressure, coach and tutelage the entire side. But throughout the season, he showed exactly why the Dindigul Dragons entrusted Ashwin with the opportunity to be a captain and a voice of the entire team.
“A legend like him, playing the TNPL so hard, is an inspiration for us. Batting, bowling, captaincy — he was on his toes throughout. It was unbelievable seeing him,” is how Shivam Singh described Ashwin’s role in the franchise.
With how the IPL 2025 Mega Auction is shaping up, there could be more than one team for which Ashwin’s prowess as an all-round genius and captain would be a perfect fit.
That one unfulfilled promise still lingers over the 37-year-old’s head, and this TNPL could be a positive step toward fulfilling that promise.
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