After announcing his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has already identified his next project. According to a report in Telegraph Sport, Ashwin is keen to participate in next year’s The Hundred competition in England, which would make him the first Indian male player to feature in the event.
Ashwin, one of the greatest spinners to have graced the sport, returned from international cricket in December last year, midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia. He ended his career with 537 wickets, the seventh-highest in Test history. On Wednesday, amid the ongoing chatter around his trade from Chennai Super Kings, Ashwin drew curtains on his IPL career.
Ashwin made the announcement on social media, clearly stating that he is ready to venture into overseas cricket leagues after ending all ties with the BCCI. “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. 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,” Ashwin said in a statement.
According to Telegraph Sport, Ashwin has already “identified the Hundred as a competition in which he would be eager to appear,” after he retired from the IPL.
With Ashwin no longer a BCCI-contracted player, he is unlikely to face any issue participating in The Hundred. For the unversed, BCCI’s rules bar India’s male cricketers from participating in overseas T20 leagues, unless they retire from Indian cricket at all levels. However, women cricketers face no such issue, and in the past, several Indian female stars have featured in The Hundred.
Next year’s The Hundred will feature teams under new identities after a major stake sale earlier this year. With fresh owners in charge, the demand for star names is bound to rise, and hence, there will likely be a lot of interest in roping in Ashwin. In fact, four of the eight franchises now have links to IPL ownership groups. That makes them frontrunners to chase Ashwin, though interest is expected from the rest of the field as well.
