Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has ended his Indian Premier League (IPL) career but says he will be available to play other competitions of franchise cricket around the world.
The 38-year-old began and ended his IPL career with his home team, Chennai Super Kings, and also represented Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in between.
“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,” the 38-year-old posted on X on Wednesday.
“Look forward to enjoying and making the most of what’s ahead of me,” he added.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow any current player in Indian international or domestic cricket to feature in overseas leagues.
Ashwin is the IPL’s fifth-highest wicket-taker with 187 wickets from 221 matches with an economy rate of 7.2.
The off-spinner quit international cricket in December 2024, having taken 537 Test wickets, 156 one-day international wickets and 72 wickets in T20 internationals.
Only Anil Kumble’s 619 wickets stood ahead of Ashwin in Test cricket for India.
Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 against West Indies and was named Player of the Match, with match figures of 9-128 across the game.
The Chennai-born bowling all-rounder would go on to take eight 10-wicket match hauls, while hitting six centuries in his 106 Tests.
The final Test was in the second match of a five-Test tour of Australia, which resulted in a 3-1 series defeat for India. Ashwin’s last T20 international was in November 2022.
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