Rajasthan Royals became the first side in the IPL 2026 season to suffer a defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders, with KKR having started the campaign without a win in their opening six fixtures. The match was a tense affair that swung repeatedly before KKR finally edged it in the closing stages. Rinku Singh played a decisive knock, smashing 53 from 34 balls to keep the pressure on, while Anukul Roy finished the job with 29 off 16, sealing victory for Kolkata in the final over. Even with the spotlight on Rinku and Anukul’s match-winning efforts, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin sharply criticised Rajasthan’s captain Riyan Parag over what he called captaincy mistakes in the closing phase.
In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Ashwin alleged that Parag did not show enough faith in Ravindra Jadeja, the Royals’ senior-most player, by not bringing him into the attack. The former India spinner highlighted that Jadeja had already taken two wickets in his spell of three overs, conceding just 8 runs, yet was apparently left out when the game was still in the balance.
“You’ve got a world-class left-arm spinner. Sure, numbers and data can tell you something, but he has conceded only 9 or 11 runs in three overs and taken two wickets,” Ashwin said. “When Rinku Singh tries to hit, he’s right on the edge of getting out, but you thought, ‘I’m an off-spinner; I can apply pressure to these two left-handers, but Jaddu won’t be able to.’ Though Ravi Bishnoi can, you felt Jaddu won’t. That is the mindset. It’s possible Jaddu bowls and the batter launches two sixes, but if you don’t bowl him, you’re not showing trust in your bowling unit for the long haul,” he added, taking direct aim at Parag’s decision-making.
Ashwin questions Parag’s mindset and use of Jadeja
While Ashwin acknowledged that analytics and matchup trends can discourage deploying a left-arm spinner against left-handed batters—particularly during the death overs—he insisted Parag’s hesitation to use Jadeja was still baffling. He argued that the captain was overlooking one of Rajasthan’s key performers from the day, and that the message being sent to Jadeja was one of doubt, to the extent that the senior all-rounder would feel he no longer needed to try hard against left-handers.
“If a left-arm spinner knows he isn’t wanted against a left-hander, he won’t even try. As a captain or team management, if you’re telling him, ‘This is not your job,’ then look at what happens to the ball,” Ashwin said. “You won four out of five games, and in this party, if Ravindra Jadeja had taken the wicket of Rinku Singh, he would have been the Man of the Match today. If he becomes the Man of the Match, the Rajasthan Royals become a solid 7-8 player team; the way your team looks then is so good.”
Ashwin then broadened his point beyond just that one moment, suggesting that even if a side ends up losing, the approach should still involve giving responsibility to a bowler who has already delivered. “It’s possible that you can lose, but understand that you should lose with one of your better bowlers having bowled. Does it ever happen that you don’t send Mitchell Marsh to bat? You don’t send Rishabh Pant? You don’t send Nicholas Pooran? That never happens,” he said.
He concluded by arguing that the same principle should apply to bowling choices as well, even when it comes to players getting opportunities for the first time. “So what I am saying is that if you can take Brijesh Sharma, who has no experience in the IPL, and give him the 18th and 20th overs in his first game, you can definitely give them to Jadeja. You can give them to Bishnoi, but you can also give them to Jadeja,” Ashwin said.
