Why did Ravichandran Ashwin open the batting in place of Jos Buttler in today’s RR vs PBKS match?

Ravichandran Ashwin surprisingly opened the batting for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) earlier tonight at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Generally, Jos Buttler opens the batting for RR along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, but Ashwin came in place of Buttler tonight.

Buttler seemingly got hurt after taking the catch to dismiss Shahrukh Khan in the final over of the Punjab Kings' innings. He went off the field after taking the catch, and it looks like he wasn't ready to come out to bat when the Rajasthan Royals' innings started. As a result, RR were forced to send another player, and they picked Ashwin for the job.

Ravichandran Ashwin has played in the top-order for the Rajasthan Royals in the past. In fact, during the previous edition of the Indian Premier League, Ashwin even scored a half-century for the team.

While Ashwin has decent batting skills, he failed to open his account against the Punjab Kings tonight. Arshdeep Singh dismissed him caught out on a duck. He returned to the pavilion after scoring zero runs off four balls.

Has Ravichandran Ashwin opened the innings in an IPL match before?

Not many fans will remember that Ravichandran Ashwin has opened the innings once before in his IPL career. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) sent him to open the batting for them in a league-stage match against the Kolkata Knight Riders back at the Eden Gardens back in 2013.

The pitch favored the spinners, and CSK captain MS Dhoni sent Ashwin to open the batting along with Michael Hussey. Ashwin scored 11 runs off 13 balls in that game before Sunil Narine dismissed him.

Ashwin, however, does not have a great record as an opener, with 11 runs from two innings. His batting average as an opener in IPL matches is 5.50.

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