R Ashwin brings curtain down on 'my time as an IPL cricketer'

R Ashwin has retired from the IPL. He made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning, vowing to start exploring "the game around various leagues".

He ends as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the IPL with 187 strikes at an economy rate of 7.2. Ashwin started off and ended playing for Chennai Super Kings, the team that represents his home city, but he also played for Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, and captained Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings).

Ashwin, India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, is already retired from international cricket. He made that announcement in December 2024, midway through India's tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Ashwin won the IPL with CSK in 2010 and 2011, but his homecoming in IPL 2025 after eight years of playing for other teams turned out to be less than ideal. Ashwin, who was acquired by CSK at the mega auction last year for INR 9.75 crore, played nine of 14 matches. This was the first time since 2009, Ashwin's first season, that he played fewer than 12 games in a season. It was also his costliest year: he went for 9.12 runs an over, the first time that his season economy rate went past 8.49.

Ashwin can now play in other leagues around the world, much like his state mate, Dinesh Karthik, who retired from the IPL in June 2024 and went on to feature in the SA20 six months later. The BCCI doesn't allow any current player in Indian international or domestic cricket to feature in overseas T20 leagues. 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.

Should franchises be 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.

Ashwin has always sought to keep learning and keep competing in whatever cricket he can. Having brought an end to his international career, Ashwin perhaps now wants to have the most fun with whatever top-level cricket he has left in his soon to be 39-year-old body. Even when part of Indian cricket, he threw himself into the TNPL every opportunity he got.

That he managed to survive in the IPL for as long as he did is testament to Ashwin's itch to frequently keep upgrading. He is the only traditional fingerspinner in the top eight wicket-takers in the IPL, a considerable achievement given that fingerspinners, especially those whose stock delivery turns into the right-hand batter, have been pushed to the margins of T20s. To stay relevant in the format, he also worked on his power-hitting to be able to do a role for RR. He started to open the batting in the TNPL in order to become a better hitter.

Ashwin was the first player to be retired-out in the IPL, and the first one to run-out a non-striker without delivering the ball.