New Delhi: Legendary Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Wednesday. The veteran Indian player thus drew curtains on a 16-year-long association with the cash-rich league, joining it in 2009, an year after its inception in 2008.
Ashwin took to social media handle on August 27 to make the announcement. The veteran Indian all-rounder has called it quits from international cricket earlier in the year. In IPL, the 38-year-old seasoned player was considered as one of the sharpest players to play the game after making his debut for Chennai Super Kings in 2009 and impressing with his performance.
Apart from CSK, Ashwin played from other franchises as well like the Rising Pune Supergiant, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals. His last appearance came in IPL 2025 after he rejoined CSK for Rs 9.75 crore after a decade-long gap. CSK paid an emotional tribute in a social media post.
Records held by Ashwin in IPL
Ravichandran Ashwin played a total of 221 matches in the IPL claiming 187 wickets at av average of 30.22. The right-arm spinner has the fourth-most wickets in IPL history, behind Yuzvendra Chahal (221), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (198), Sunil Narine (192), and Piyush Chawla (192).
Ashwin was among the very few bowlers who loved bowling in the Powerplay, first 6 overs of the match. The majestic spinner’s tally of 50 powerplay scalps in IPL is the most for any spinner by a distance. The next spinner in this elusive list is India’s Harbhajan Singh with 30 wickets.
Ashwin’s tally of 52 IPL scalps at an average of 21.69 at Chepauk is still the most for any bowler at this venue. He played a lot of home matches at the MA Chidambaram Stadium during his two stints with CSK and his economy of 6.42 on this ground is also the best among bowlers.
Ashwin tops the list of players with the most balls bowled in the history of IPL. With 4710 balls bowled in 221 IPL matches, Ashwin finished his IPL career with the most balls bowled in the tournament’s history.
In his 16 seasons in the IPL, Ashwin played eight for CSK and finished his glorious career as the team’s third-highest wicket-taker with 97 wickets to his name.