He recently retired from the Indian Premier League (IPL) too.
The recently concluded ILT20 2026 auction stunned the cricket fraternity after ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went unsold.
The India’s second-highest wicket-taker in international cricket entered the auction with a record base price of USD 120,000. Given his reputation, it was expected that Ashwin would attract the bidding war between the franchises, potentially breaking records in the league’s first-ever auction in four seasons. But the 39-year-old did not see any bids coming for him in the first round, leaving fans and experts in shock.
The off-spinner’s record in domestic leagues, tactical acumen, and leadership qualities, make him a valuable asset for any team in T20 cricket. Yet, he was overlooked in the International League T20 (ILT20) auction. During the live auction broadcast on YouTube, former New Zealand player Simon Doull had speculated that Ashwin would have voluntarily pulled out after being ignored in the first round.
Doull further noted that such a move could prove short-sighted, given that several franchises still had large sums of money left in their purse ahead of the accelerated round, where the teams could have shown interest in signing him in later rounds.
“You’ve got to understand what’s going on out there and all that money left, when there are 3-4 teams with over USD 400,000 left in their pot. I don’t think they came here not wanting to spend money—it’s there to be spent. If he pulled himself out, then he just hasn’t read the room. I think sides would have gone in for him,” he said.
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Ashwin has committed to a full season in the Big Bash League (BBL) and will feature in all matches for the Sydney Thunder. He had initially signed up for a shorter stint, covering only a few league fixtures and the playoffs, but has now extended his contract to remain available throughout the tournament.
The dates of ILT20 2026 and the BBL 2025 are scheduled parallelly. The BBL 2025 will run from December 14, 2025, to January 25, 2026. The ILT20 begins from December 2, 2025, with the all-important final slated for January 4, 2026. There was a slight possibility that he can still feature in the ILT20 as a wildcard entry, as two franchises, MI Emirates and Desert Vipers, are yet to complete their wildcard signings.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) veteran has confirmed that he has committed to a full BBL season for the Sydney Thunder, though the price had to be higher as his earlier contract covered only a few league fixtures and the playoffs.
He also explained why he pulled out of the ILT20 auction, particularly after going unsold in the first round.
“That’s the price I wanted as a bare minimum, and I’m happy not to play at this stage of my career if my value isn’t met. I was about to pull out a few days before the auction because of the Thunder deal, but since I had already committed to the ILT20 that I would enter the auction, I honoured my word. However, I did not agree to lowering my base price. I have signed up with Sydney Thunder for the entire season,” Ashwin told Cricbuzz
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