Kamal Ghorui
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come down heavily on Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag, questioning his decision-making in the defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin did not hold back while dissecting a crucial moment involving Ravindra Jadeja. Despite Jadeja conceding just eight runs in three overs and picking up two key wickets, he was not trusted in a critical phase against left-handers.“When you have a world-class spinner who conceded just 8 runs in 3 overs, yet you think you’re an off-spinner who can bowl to these two left-handers but not Jaddu — that shows a poor captaincy mindset. Jaddu’s balls may get hit for sixes, but as a captain, it’s your responsibility to trust your bowlers,” Ashwin said.Ashwin also stressed the long-term impact of such decisions. “Aap long term jo bowling par bhraossa dikha sakta hai, because if a left-arm spinner will know that he don’t have to bowl to left-handers, wo koshish bhi nahi karega. If Jadeja would’ve bowled and taken wicket of Rinku, he would have been the man of the match,” he explained.The comments came after a game that slipped away from Rajasthan Royals despite strong moments with the ball. KKR vice-captain Rinku Singh played a decisive role with an unbeaten 53, guiding his side to a four-wicket win.A key turning point came early in Rinku Singh’s innings when he was dropped on eight — that too off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja — a moment that ultimately proved decisive. From there, he capitalised fully, stitching a match-winning 76-run partnership with Anukul Roy to take KKR over the line with two balls to spare.Earlier, KKR’s bowlers had set up the contest brilliantly. Varun Chakravarthy (3/14) and Sunil Narine (2/26) led the spin charge, while Kartik Tyagi chipped in with three wickets to restrict Rajasthan Royals to 155/9.Despite Jadeja’s impactful spell in the middle overs, RR failed to close out the game — a lapse Ashwin believes stemmed from a lack of trust in proven match-winners at crucial moments.
