IPL 2022: RR told me they will be using me at the top of the order – Ravichandran Ashwin

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed the franchise communicated to him that they would be using him at the top of the order after he was brought in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

There have been a few occasions in the season when Ashwin has batted at one down for the inaugural champions.

Ashwin once again batted at number three for Rajasthan Royals against his former team Delhi Capitals at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on Wednesday. The right-hander was able to hit the ground running after RR lost the early wicket of Jos Buttler.

Ashwin added 43 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal and then added 53 with Devdutt Padikkal. The veteran all-rounder also scored his maiden IPL fifty and scored a decent knock of 50 runs off 38 balls.

In fact, Ashwin revealed he also opened the innings for Rajasthan Royals in practice games as he was preparing for the role.

“There is no license that has been given. Starting from the season, it was communicated properly to me that they’d be using me up the order. We had a few practice games also where I opened, and yeah, kind of enjoyed it. I have worked a lot on my batting and it’s nice to see that whatever’s been worked translates on the field. So yeah pretty good feel about the knock today, but nevertheless, it didn’t come in a winning cause,” Ashwin said at the post-match press conference.

It was not the easiest of pitches but RR did well to get to 107-3 after 14.1 overs as Ashwin and Devdutt Padikkal played handy knocks. However, they could not finish the innings on a high as they scored 53 runs in the last six overs and lost four wickets.

“Today the pitch wasn’t quite the easiest, so there was communication around that. Obviously, the communication to keep going or to just play for a few more overs and set it up – whatever it is – just keeps coming in. Most often than not, [when] you find yourself hitting the 100-run mark within the 13th over, you end up getting 180. That’s generally the kind of algorithm that works and today again we hit the 100 mark on quite a tough pitch when we were batting first.

On the other hand, Ashwin went wicketless in his quota of four overs and conceded 32 runs. The Sanju Samson-led team will next face Lucknow Super Giants at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.