Ravichandran Ashwin has urged cricket fans to recognise Ravi Bishnoi’s turnaround, praising the Rajasthan Royals (RR) leg-spinner after the bowler’s early impact in IPL 2026. Bishnoi currently sits atop the Purple Cap standings, having taken five wickets across his first two matches, and Ashwin believes the spotlight should now firmly be on the Rajasthan spinner rather than past criticism.
Ashwin’s comments came soon after Bishnoi delivered a match-winning spell of 4/41 against Gujarat Titans (GT). The performance helped him earn the Player of the Match award, and the veteran India campaigner used that momentum to highlight how quickly opinions can change once a player finds rhythm.
In his discussion on YouTube, Ashwin also took aim at how Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) managed Bishnoi during the previous season. He argued that Bishnoi should have commanded a far bigger price in the 2026 auction, claiming he expected the leg-spinner to be bought for well over Rs 10 crore.
“It is time to give him credit. He has the Purple cap now, the cap looks good on his head because he had a challenging season with LSG last year. He was not even traded after that, he was just put back into the auction pool. I was so sure that he would go for 10-12 crores, and that did not happen,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin further suggested that LSG’s handling contributed to Bishnoi’s dip in valuation, pointing to the way other franchises appeared to assess the leg-spinner. He also criticised Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for choosing to sign Rahul Chahar for Rs 5.2 crore instead of pushing harder for Bishnoi, who was available for Rs 5.8 crore at the time.
“CSK pulled out at 7 [5.8] crores, because they were saying that there is not much difference between Ravi Bishnoi and Rahul Chahar. The way LSG handled him, that is why Ravi Bishnoi’s stock value dipped. I am eagerly waiting to see Ravi Bishnoi’s comeback as Ravi Bishnoi 2.0,” Ashwin added.
RR ultimately benefited from that auction hesitation, securing Bishnoi—the current Purple Cap holder—for Rs 7.2 crore, a deal Ashwin feels is already paying off with Bishnoi’s early wicket haul.
After his big outing against GT, Bishnoi addressed his own development process. He acknowledged that last season had been tough, explaining that his effectiveness depends heavily on hitting his preferred length.
“It was a difficult season last year. When I miss my length, I get hit. I was trying to work on my lengths, and if anyone hits off those, then no problem. Mental, technical and physical (effort) all together. Had to bowl a lot of balls (to keep improving),” Bishnoi said following the match.
