“Maybe that is still going on in his mind, he has to move past that” – R Ashwin’s brutal take on Ruturaj Gaikwad after CSK vs PBKS IPL 2026 match

Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin questioned Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s intent during the five-wicket loss to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 3. The right-handed batter scored 28 runs off 22 deliveries at a strike rate of 127.27 with two boundaries in the high-scoring encounter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

Ruturaj Gaikwad continued as an opener alongside Sanju Samson, but the pairing failed to click again as the latter was dismissed in the second over. For the remainder of the powerplay, and in the middle overs, the skipper was more or less played as an anchor, with Ayush Mhatre doing the bulk of scoring.

R Ashwin noted that Gaikwad’s lack of intent must be stemming from his dismissal in CSK’s season opener against Rajasthan Royals (RR), where he had tried to take down Jofra Archer. On that occasion, the opener had tried to make room, but was castled instead, leaving the team in trouble at 19-2.

“After the match, Ruturaj Gaikwad said something (during the post-match presentation), but I don’t agree with that point. He said that the ball stopped in the wicket, but it did not. There was not even a bit of moisture on the wicket. Maybe there must have been a little bit of swing, I am not denying that. In the last match, Ruturaj took the risk against Jofra Archer and got out, maybe that is still going on in his mind. He has to move past that, this is a T20 game, a risk-taking game, so here you cannot back down,” R Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin opined that the lack of intent played a part as CSK scored well below par, considering their poor bowling and PBKS’ imperious batting.

“It was less, it was very less. I’m not saying it was less because I’m a bowler. We can accept that CSK’s strength is not their bowling, but their batting has a lot of firepower, especially up top. Ayush Mhatre batting like this is the best possible news they can get, because they have got a champion player for the next 10 years. Just how RR got Vaibhav Suryavanshi, CSK got Ayush Mhatre,” Ashwin said

“CSK were trapped a bit in the middle. When Shivam Dube came in, PBKS started death bowling. During that phase, their run rate dipped a bit. When Prashant Veer came in, they bowled short balls to him and did not give anything in the arc,” he continued.

Ayush Mhatre recovered from his shock duck against RR to be the top-scorer against PBKS in the first home game. The emerging player smashed 73 runs off 43 deliveries at a strike rate of 169.77, including 11 boundaries.

“Marco Jansen was still sitting inside when the match ended” – R Ashwin on PBKS’ sheer dominance over CSK in IPL 2026 match

Ashwin expressed surprise at CSK’s lack of desire to attempt to record an over-par score to negate their bowling woes and put pressure on the PBKS batters. The five-time winners are without Nathan Ellis, who has been ruled out of the entire season due to injury, while the rest of the bowling unit are far from threatening.

“What was surprising for me in this game was that these people did not think that we need extra 10 runs to make up for the bowling. Also, the wicket was batting-friendly, and PBKS’ batting has a lot of power. Stoinis came in last, and Marco Jansen was still sitting inside when the match ended. Keeping all of this in mind, they should have gone for 230-235 on this wicket,” Ashwin said.

PBKS are now placed at the top of the table after consecutive wins to kick-start their IPL 2026 campaign.