Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth wants Chennai Super Kings to drop Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing XI after they suffered an ignominious eight-wicket loss against Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Friday.

Ashwin could not deliver with both bat and ball against the defending champions. The right-hander scored a solitary run off seven balls before he was dismissed by Harshit Rana whereas he conceded 30 runs in the three overs he bowled without any wickets.

The homecoming to CSK for Ashwin hasn’t been sweet as he has scalped five wickets in six matches at an average of 39.50 and has conceded his runs at a high economy rate of almost 10.

Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Ashwin has been bowling TERRIBLY. If he keeps bowling like this, I’m not even sure if he’s going to be in the XI, let alone play well. Jadeja is not at his peak. I want CSK to remove Ashwin from the XI. I have been supporting Ashwin till now but not after this performance, I think CSK should be bold and drop him.”

The World Cup winning player wants CSK to include leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal in place of Ashwin,

“There’s a leg-spinner called Shreyas Gopal, right? Play him instead of Ashwin in the next match. Remove Ashwin from the team. It will work out. Gopal is a really good player, he can win matches. He has fire in the belly. I backed Ashwin for the longest time, but I can’t anymore. I have seen it all.”

Furthermore, Srikkanth questioned CSK for backing Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda despite the duo’s low returns.

“Try someone new. Going back to the same people like Tripathi and Hooda, what message are you sending? CSK is the best among the worst teams. They don’t have batting, bowling, or fielding. If you feel the season is going to go terrible, try out new players. That’s how you got Ruturaj Gaikwad,” said Srikkanth.

CSK is at the bottom of the standings with a solitary win in six matches.