Ravichandran Ashwin had a pretty ordinary season with CSK in IPL 2025, picking up just seven wickets from nine matches
Ravichandran Ashwin was expected to light up Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after returning to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), The five-time champions acquired the former India all-rounder for a huge amount of INR 9.75 crore, but he eventually turned out to be a huge disappointment and it wasn’t a happy homecoming.
The 38-year-old had a pretty ordinary season with Chennai Super Kings, picking up just seven wickets from nine matches at an economy rate of 9.13. With the bat, Ravichandran Ashwin scored just 33 runs from nine matches at a strike-rate of 110.
Because of his underwhelming IPL 2025 season, there are high chances that Chennai Super Kings could release Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the IPL 2026 season. This would also help the Yellow Brigade free up funds. Let’s now take a look at three teams that could target Ravichandran Ashwin at the IPL 2026 Auction:
Lucknow Super Giants could be a good fit for Ravichandran Ashwin because they are in need of experienced spinners. Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Singh Rathi led Lucknow Super Giants’ spin attack in IPL 2025.
While Ravi Bishnoi had an ordinary season with nine wickets from 11 matches, Digvesh Singh Rathi was even more impressive after having taken 14 wickets from 13 matches. Having Ravichandran Ashwin in the Lucknow Super Giants setup will not just bolster their spin-bowling lineup, but also the younger players will get to learn from the best.
Another reason why Ravichandran Ashwin could be a good fit at Lucknow Super Giants is because of the fact that the team were almost heavily reliant on Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Singh Rathi.
Shahbaz Ahmed had limited game time, playing just three matches wherein he took just one wicket. M Siddharth, too, endured a similar outcoming after having taken just one wicket in three matches. Ravi Bishnoi’s ordinary season with the ball also added to Lucknow Super Giants’ spin bowling woes.
All in all, Ravichandran Ashwin, should he sign for Lucknow Super Giants, could be an advantage because of the experience he brings in and the also because of the way how he can help the youngsters in the squad.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, runners-up of IPL 2024, missed out on the playoffs this time around after finishing in sixth place with 13 points. Part of the reason for their failure was because of the inconsistency in the spin department.
Adam Zampa, who took two wickets from as many matches, was ruled out of the IPL 2025 due to an injury and Rahul Chahar was underused, playing just one match. Kamindu Mendis also endured a poor season, having taken just two wickets from four innings.
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Ravichandran Ashwin can possibly be a valuable addition to the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad next season as a possible spin back-up option. Of course, any team would look to fit in someone like Ashwin in the playing XI but his experience will come in handy if one of the spinners get injured.
For someone who has played for Chennai Super Kings for more than half a decade, Royal Challengers Bengaluru might not be a straightforward move.
But, such is the impact of Ravichandran Ashwin that whichever franchise he plays for, he does so with total commitment. Ravichandran Ashwin to Royal Challengers Bengaluru might be the least likeliest of moves, but once again, for a team like RCB, a move like this would be a huge boost on paper.
Should RCB release the likes of Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh or even Liam Livingstone, then Ravichandran Ashwin can be taken into consideration. Should Ashwin join the defending IPL champions, he won’t be the first player to play for both CSK and RCB. Shivam Dube, Muttiah Muralitharan and Moeen Ali are among the players who have played for both teams.
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