Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on August 27 through a social media post on his ‘X’ account. Ashwin added that he now aims to explore playing in overseas T20 leagues. “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,” wrote Ashwin on ‘X’.
“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 began and ended his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings, based in his home city.
In IPL 2025, where CSK had a bottom-place finish, Ashwin played nine games – picking 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. Ashwin also played for 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, including hitting a fifty.