Post IPL retirement, Ashwin vows to start exploring the game around various leagues

Ravichandran Ashwin, the first player to be retired-out in the Indian Premier League, and the first one to run-out a non-striker without delivering the ball, has announced his retirement from the cash-rich league on Wednesday. The 39-year-old, who has already retired from international cricket, has, however, kept his options open for playing in various T20 leagues across the world.

The BCCI doesn’t allow any current player in Indian international or domestic cricket to feature in overseas T20 leagues, and hence Ashwin’s retirement from IPL opens the door for him to explore opportunities across the other T20 leagues across the globe.

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“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 announced on social media.

“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,” he added.

Ashwin ends his IPL career as the league’s fifth-highest wicket-taker with 187 scalps in 221 games coming at an economy rate of 7.2. He won the IPL with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2010 and 2011, but his return to the franchise in IPL 2025 after eight years of playing for other teams turned out to be far from impressive.

In IPL 2025, where CSK had a bottom-place finish, Ashwin featured in nine games and managed only seven wickets at a high economy rate of 9.13 and was even left out of the starting eleven at one point due to his underwhelming returns.

Besides CSK, Ashwin also represented now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, and captained Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) in the IPL. He also amassed 833 runs with the bat in the IPL at a strike rate of 118, with a solitary fifty.

Ashwin’s decision is much like his Tamil Nadu teammate and former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, who retired from the IPL in June 2024 and went on to feature in the SA20 six months later. Karthik now takes up coaching roles in Indian cricket, and plays in other leagues when he can. Like Karthik, Ashwin will also have to step away from the TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League) to be able to play overseas.

If franchises are interested in his services, Ashwin will now have the option to play in the BBL in Australia, the SA20 in South Africa, the ILT20 in the UAE, the Hundred in England and the CPL in the West Indies.