Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has picked Kartik Sharma as the reliable player after Chennai Super Kings obliterated Mumbai Indians by a huge margin of 103 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday.

Sharma batted at number six and scored 18 runs off 19 balls with the help of two sixes over extra cover region. Ashwin highlighted if the youngster had not played this knock, CSK would have been forced to use either Prashant Veer or Urvil Patel as an Impact Player and they would not have been able to use Akeal Hosein.

Hosein was eventually used as an Impact Player and he returned with impressive figures of 4-17 in his four overs to play a key role in bundling out MI at 104.

“My reliable player of the day actually would be Kartik Sharma, not even Akeal Hosein. If he had not played this long, some 20 balls or so, he would not have been able to make two points of difference. One, Santner got injured, but more importantly, CSK had already kept Urvil Patel padded up and ready, and also Prashant Veer. If Karthik Sharma had been out early then, they would have sent a batter (as impact sub) to score 20 more runs, because everyone were thinking that they needed at least 220,” Ashwin remarked on his YouTube channel.

“Imagine if CSK had used their impact sub on a batter, then Akeal Hosein would not have got a chance in this game. So, CSK should not keep him as an impact sub, and keep him in the playing XI, and let someone else be the impact sub. But jokes apart, Akeal Hosein is my reliable player of the day, and it is because of him CSK were able to win today. The spell he bowled in the powerplay, how often do you see a team scoring less than run-a-ball in the powerplay at the Wankhede?” he added.

Ashwin praised Hosein for being on the money in the Powerplay overs. The left-arm spinner accounted for Danish Malewar and Naman Dhir in the first six overs to put CSK in front.

“Jadeja is my friend, but he never bowled in the powerplay. But Akeal Hosein has powerplay skills, he has an arm ball that swings late, that is his most dangerous strength. He also bowled a spinning ball today that dismissed Danish Malewar. Everyone were saying that CSK’s bowling attack is the weakest, but in the three games they have won, all six points have come because of the bowling,” R Ashwin opined.

Chennai Super Kings will next take on Gujarat Titans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Sunday.