[Watch] "No off days"- R Ashwin plays chess during flight journey to Kolkata with RR teammates
Rajasthan Royals (RR) all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin kept himself busy during the IPL team's flight journey from Mumbai to Kolkata by indulging in a game of chess.
The Royals finished in second position in the IPL 2022 points table after the culmination of the league stage. They will now face table-toppers Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1 on May 24 (Tuesday) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The Rajasthan franchise recently gave fans a glimpse of the players' activities during their trip from Mumbai to Kolkata for the IPL 2022 playoffs. In the video, fans can see Ashwin intensely engaged in a game of chess with one of his mates. RR posted the following video and captioned it:
"No off days 🧠... 😂"
You can watch the video below:
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"His shot selection under pressure was outstanding"- Ravi Shastri praises Ashwin for his blazing knock against CSK in IPL 2022
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri reserved special praise for Ravichandran Ashwin for his batting exploits this season and applauded his shot selection under pressure in the game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The 35-year-old finished the game for RR with a fiery 40* (in 21 balls) against his former franchise and helped his side seal the second spot in the points table. He also received the Man-of-the-Match award for his special match-winning knock.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Ravi Shastri said:
“He is a cricketer who plays with passion. He wants to win every game. It doesn’t matter to him who the opponent is. The kind of confidence he has in his ability, you find that in very few cricketers. I know that he has a lot of confidence in his batting. His shot selection under pressure was outstanding. He targeted the right bowlers and pulled out the big strokes when needed. This is how I have seen him bat in the nets. But to take that game into the middle is not easy.”
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder has been a phenomenal performer in both the batting and bowling departments for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022. He scored 183 runs batting in different positions in the line-up throughout the league phase and scalped 11 wickets with his wily off-spin.