The tournament will begin on November 7.
Last year, Sri Lanka beat Pakistan to win their second title. After achieving great success despite a seven-year gap, Cricket Hong Kong is ready with another season of the Hong Kong Sixes in November, bringing star players together from across the world for a unique tournament. This global event has witnessed stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, and Shane Warne in the past. And this time, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be a part of the marquee event, just a couple of weeks after announcing his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
The news was confirmed by Cricket Hong Kong, China, on their X (formerly Twitter) handle on September 18. Ashwin’s inclusion will help boost the viewership.
Upon the announcement, Ashwin said, “We have all watched the HK Sixes as youngsters on television and it has always been an existing format that I wanted to be a part of. This format requires a different strategy and will prove to be high octane, which I am looking forward to play alongside my ex-teammates. I am also thrilled to compete against some quality players in the opposition teams, it will be a good challenge for us.”
In the Hong Kong sixes tournament, each game consists of a maximum of five overs per innings, with each bowler allowed to bowl only one over. However, the tournament’s final will have seven eight-ball overs. The extras, including wide and no-balls, are counted as two runs. Another twist in the tale is, the batter has to retire out after completing 31 individual runs. But he can return to the crease after other batters are out or retired.
The 2025 edition of the tournament will be from November 7 to 9 at the Tin Kwong Road Cricket Ground. The event will host 12 countries battling for the silverware. India are expected to announce the squad a few days before the upcoming season. Last year, Kedar Jadhav, Manoj Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Stuart Binny, and Bharat Chipli were part of the India squad.
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Ashwin, who made his IPL debut in 2009, has represented four teams, including Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The other teams he has played for are Rajasthan Royals (RR), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Punjab Kings (PBKS). The off-spinner was roped in by CSK in the IPL 2025 mega auction for a whopping INR 9.75 crore. However, he failed to produce an inspiring season, finishing with just seven wickets in nine games, leaking runs at 9.13 eco. However, the 39-year-old completed his tenure in the league with the fourth-highest wicket-taker (187).
Ashwin drew curtains on his international career across all formats last year, during the Border-Gavaskar 2024-25 in Australia. He ended with the second-most wickets (765) across formats for the country after Anil Kumble (953).
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