IPL 2019: R Ashwin is the best captain of the season after MS Dhoni, opines Harsha Bhogle

New Delhi, April 18: Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle believes Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin has been the best leader in the ongoing season of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 after Chennai Super Kings' captain cool MS Dhoni.

In a column for Times of India, Bhogle claimed that its Ashwin's captaincy that has kept Kings in the playoffs hunt and lauded the way the off-spinner is managing his players. KXIP are placed fourth in the points-table with five wins from nine games.

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"So why are they doing well? You could look at Chris Gayle and his starts, KL Rahul and his acceptance of a new role even if it means he uses up too many deliveries sometimes, Mayank Agarwal who has been excellent without too many talking about him, but this doesn't get you into the play-offs. The key has been the captain. It is fashionable to look for weaknesses in R Ashwin but with Dhoni, he has been the standout leader of this IPL," he wrote.

The veteran commentator hailed Ashwin for taking bold decisions and has been vocal even during the times of adversity.

"You look at that team and you know straightaway who the leader is. He hasn't shied away from taking decisions, has been vocal and been happy to be in the eye of the storm himself. And, yes, he has bowled magnificently. If the Kings make the playoffs, with the resources they have, it will be a huge triumph for Ashwin," he added.

Bhogle further said that Punjab have made the best of the resouces available to them. "The Kings XI Punjab have been the sleeper hit of this year's IPL. Almost everybody had written them off before the tournament started, questions were raised, and they were valid, about the balance of the team and, truth be told, it could have been the forgotten team of the IPL. We don't yet know if they will make the play-offs but it can pretty safely be said that no team has made as much of the resources available to it as the Kings XI has," he said.

Bhogle cited the example of KXIP's win over Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday how they successfully defended 182 on a batting friendly Mohali track.

"Against Rajasthan Royals, the bowling, in defence of 182 which was at best par, was hardly threatening. Mohd Shami, having an excellent tournament but possessed of an otherwise ordinary T20 record, R Ashwin who isn't considered for white ball cricket, Murugan Ashwin, one of many leg spinners, Arshdeep Singh, hardly heard of and Mujeeb, the highly rated young Afghani who is having an average tournament. There was no sixth option to speak of. And yet, except for a few overs, they didn't let the Royals into the game," he said.