The news comes just one day before Ashwin's 39th birthday.
After frenzied trade rumours ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction, Ravichandran Ashwin bid farewell to the T20 tournament. In a social media post, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bowler mentioned “a new start,” but left it to interpretation. In an exclusive interview with International League T20 (ILT20) CEO David White and The Times of India, they are looking to fit the veteran as a player and a coach. This news comes a day before Ashwin’s 39th birthday on September 17.
Check Ashwin’s announcement post below.
Earlier, on his YouTube channel, Ashwin had mentioned, “Of course, I won’t be playing everywhere for 10 months. Whatever each team’s requirements are, and the ones I satisfy, I’ll play in those leagues. I’ve already registered for one, so let’s see how that pans out.”
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The former India player will likely be a part of the UAE’s T20 league in some capacity. Whether Ashwin will take part as a player, a coach, or an analyst is yet to be confirmed.
As per the interview, White said, “We’re having very positive conversations with Ashwin, and hopefully we’ll have positive news in the near future. I think we’re very open to anything like that. Not only his playing and coaching, but also his analytical skills. He has his own media company, which he’s working on. He’s a very clever guy. We would welcome all aspects.”
However, an official word by Ashwin or the ILT20 league is yet to be released.
If Ashwin is to play in the league, he would’ve registered by September 10 for the player auction on September 30.
The fourth edition of the six-team league, originally set to run from January to February 2026, has been preponed to December 2, 2025. This adjustment is made to avoid clashing with the T20 World Cup 2026, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, commencing in February.
Dubai Capitals will begin the season as defending champions. Previously, the Gulf Giants had won the inaugural season, followed by the MI Emirates.
Talking about Ashwin, he has participated in the IPL since his debut season in 2009 for CSK, which lasted seven seasons, including five seasons of Champions League Twenty20. In 2016, Ashwin moved to the Rising Pune Supergiants. He then represented two seasons with Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals each, before playing three seasons for Rajasthan Royals. The two-time IPL-winning player returned to CSK for his last season. Overall, playing 221 matches, Ashwin has 187 wickets to his name. The bowling all-rounder was also often handy with the bat, scoring a total of 833 runs.
Most recently, he took the Dindigul Dragons to the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2025 Final. Though the skipper returned wicketless in the summit clash, he was the top wicket-taker for his team with 13 scalps at a decent economy of 7.36.
For India in T20Is, the spinner accounts for 72 wickets in 65 outings, including two four-fers. However, his last T20I appearance came in 2022, followed by ODIs in 2023. He announced his retirement during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
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