Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on CSK-SRH four-player trade ahead of IPL 2027

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have emerged as the clear winners in their trade deal with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the IPL 2027 season.

Ashwin shared his views on the trade involving England all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who has moved from SRH to CSK. The former Indian cricketer feels Chennai could be looking at Livingstone as a long-term middle-order finishing option after MS Dhoni.

In the four-player trade, Liam Livingstone and Jack Edwards have moved to CSK whereas Nathan Ellis and Khaleel Ahmed have gone to SRH.

Speaking on his YouTube show Ash ki Baat, Ashwin explained why CSK might have decided to acquire the England all-rounder despite SRH not using him regularly.

“In this trade between SRH and CSK, SRH are the clear winners. But you may rate a player highly, and the other team is not using them, that is one thing. You may want to improve on your XI from last year as well. If you look from CSK’s perspective, Livingstone is someone who SRH did not use. And he did well in The Hundred. Maybe they have taken him because they need a middle-order finisher after MS Dhoni. They have looked at him as a finisher with power. Maybe they thought you cannot buy Livingstone in the auction for a lower price. But SRH have won this trade in its entirety,” Ashwin said.

On the other hand, the former CSK all-rounder also shed light on the potential trade between MI and PBKS. Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh are expected to be traded but the final confirmation is yet to be done.

“We can say it is a body-to-body trade. I still feel that there will be more elements in this trade. We cannot be sure, as it is a big trade. What would Punjab have thought? They would have looked at the benefits of bringing in Hardik. Stoinis did not perform as expected. They needed an experienced finisher. They should have reached the final easily last year, but it did not happen because of the bleeding in their bowling. Maybe they thought it was difficult to get more out of Arshdeep, and that is why they looked at a three-dimensional player,” he said.

IPL 2027 auction will be held in Goa in mid-December.