‘Ayush Badoni got an India call-up yet sat several matches’ – R Ashwin lashes out at underperforming LSG team after IPL 2026 debacle

Ravichandran Ashwin slammed an underperforming Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) team after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The Rishabh Pant-led side finished at the bottom of the points table, managing four wins in 14 matches.

Ashwin said that the Lucknow-based franchise gave Nicholas Pooran all 14 games in the season despite the Caribbean wicketkeeper-batter struggling to score. The southpaw finished with just 234 runs, his least productive season in the cash-rich league since 2021. Ashwin opined that dropping talented domestic players like Ayush Badoni, Mukul Choudhary, and Himmat Singh didn’t make sense.

“Nicholas Pooran could not lay bat on ball the entire season, yet they backed Nicholas Pooran time and again. Ayush Badoni got an India call-up yet sat out several matches for LSG. They had to give him a long run. Then you sit Mukul Choudhary after calling him the next best finisher and play Himmat Singh,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin believes that LSG missed a trick by not allowing Rishabh Pant to open the batting throughout the season. Playing at the top of the batting order would have helped the wicketkeeper express himself, the former India spinner feels.

“They could have got the best out of Pant if they made him open the batting. Had he scored 600 runs opening, he would have captained well and listened to the coaches instead of saying there were too many decision makers. Once they played musical chairs with Pant, half their tournament was finished there itself,” he stated.

Pant had one of his worst seasons with the bat, scoring just 312 runs in 14 matches at an average of 28.36 and a strike rate of 138.05. He registered just one half-century in the season.

“Avesh Khan playing over Akash Singh cannot be justified at all” – R Ashwin on LSG’s bowling attack

Ashwin also pointed out some of the major mistakes made by the LSG management while picking their bowling combination during the season. He mentioned that playing Avesh Khan ahead of Akash Singh wasn’t a justified move.

“Their usage of Digvesh Rathi was poor, and they didn’t know who to play between him and M Siddharth. Shami started well, but they sat him down. Avesh Khan played the matches he shouldn’t have. Avesh Khan playing over Akash Singh cannot be justified at all. Everything has fallen down for them, and it’s hard to see where they’ll reset from,” said Ashwin (via the aforementioned source).