A surprising incident happened in the game between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. It was off-spinner R Ashwin who walked out as the opener instead of Jos Buttler. Here, we take a look at the reason why R Ashwin opened the batting instead of Jos Buttler against Punjab Kings.
Here is why R Ashwin opened the batting instead of Jos Buttler
Buttler’s value as a fielder is immense for Rajasthan Royals. He took a few important catches against Punjab Kings. In the last over of the PBKS innings, he took the catch of Shahrukh Khan. However, soon after the catch, Buttler left the field. It seemed to be a niggle and hence, he could not walk out to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
R Ashwin was picked to open the batting. It was a surprising choice because RR could have made use of the Impact Player here. They could have even got Devdutt Padikkal to play at his natural position. However, Ashwin has done well in such a situation before and hence, although Ashwin has not opened the batting since 2013, he was backed for the role.
R Ashwin is opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals tonight 👀#IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/BXepylwYlv
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 5, 2023
A good choice by Rajasthan Royals
Ever since RR signed Ashwin, they have been making good use of his batting talent. The Tamil Nadu man has responded by delivering often. He has good technique and can deal with the moving ball and also is a decent player of spin. Hence, whenever RR had an early fall of a wicket, they used Ashwin at the top.
With Ashwin, there would be a sense of calmness at the crease. He can take on the bowlers while he can also bide his time if required. It is a big advantage that RR has such an option because the loss of Ashwin’s wicket may not be a big loss, too. Therefore, choosing him as the opener instead of Buttler was actually a good choice.
