Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced on his X account about his retirement from IPL. Ashwin retired from International cricket in December last year after playing a Test match against Australia. In the IPL, Ashwin played for the Chennai Super Kings in the recently completed season of the league.
Ashwin finished as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL. He took 187 wickets in 221 matches in the IPL at an average of 30.22, an economy of 7.20, and a strike rate of 25.1. He took one four-wicket haul in the IPL.
Ashwin made his IPL debut in 2009 and was a part of the squad that lifted the IPL trophy in 2010 and 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2010 and 2014.
He finished as the third-highest wicket-taker for CSK with 97 wickets to his name in 106 matches at an average of 25.39. He is the only bowler who has taken over 50 wickets at Chepauk in IPL.
“My time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today,” – Ashwin in his retirement post
In the X post that Ashwin made, he mentioned that his time as an IPL cricketer might have ended, but it is not the end of the road for the 38-year-old off-spinner. Aswhin wrote that he will now explore the various T20 leagues around the world. It’s a hint that Ashwin might appear in the BBL, ILT20, or SA20 in the next few months.
“Special day and hence a special beginning. They say every ending will have a new start, my time as an IPL cricketer comes to a close today, but my time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today,” Ashwin said in his X post.
He further thanked the BCCI, all the franchises that he played for in the IPL and the league. He said, “I would like to thank all the franchisees for all the wonderful memories and relationships over the years and most importantly the @IPL and the @BCCI for what they have given me until now. Look forward to enjoying and making the most of what’s ahead of me.”
After CSK was banned from the IPL for two years, Ashwin went on to play for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016. He missed the 2017 season due to an injury and was in the auction pool in 2018.
He was snapped by the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2018 Auction for a price of INR 7.6 crore. Ashwin was appointed the captain of the side and took 10 wickets in 14 matches. The team won six out of 14 matches and finished in seventh place. In 2019, the team again won six out of 14 games and were in sixth position.
Before the start of the league in 2020, Ashwin was traded to the Delhi Capitals. He played for the franchise from 2020 to 2021 and picked 20 wickets in 28 matches at an average of 36.10.
In the 2022 IPL Auction, Ashwin was picked by the Rajasthan Royals franchise for INR 5 crore. In his debut season for the team, Ashwin picked 12 wickets and finished with 14 wickets the following season. In 2024, he took nine wickets in 15 games and was released by the franchise before the mega auction.
The IPL 2025 Auction, Ashwin’s IPL career completed a full circle when CSK picked him for a price of INR 9.75 crore. For the first time in his IPL career, Ashwin didn’t feature in all matches for a team as he was a part of the playing 11 in just nine games. His economy went past nine runs per over for the first time in his IPL career, and he finished with seven wickets in nine games at an average of 40.42.
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