Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin called time on his marvelous IPL career, earlier this week. The star spinner, who also announced his international retirement in December 2024, played his last IPL match for Chennai Super Kings in 2025. As Ashwin is now free from his player commitments in Indian cricket, there are many speculations and reports that he might play in the leagues all over the world.
Recently, Ashwin himself removed the lid and revealed that he has registered for some overseas leagues.
“Of course I won’t be playing anywhere and 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 of the leagues and so let us see how that pans out,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
“Playing around the world outside India is fun as nobody knows who you are. You can enjoy it thoroughly. Bowling without any pressure will almost make the ball land perfectly on the spot and even if it doesn’t, it’s fine as I will finally enjoy playing with joy. I want to play on the global stage the way I played street cricket. This was always on my mind and I finally want to do it moving forward,” he added.
Before rejoining CSK in 2025, he played for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals. Ashwin’s initial IPL years from 2008 to 2015 were spent with the Men in Yellow, capturing the title twice in 2010 and 2011, with 33 wickets across these seasons, including 20 in 2011. Ashwin played a key role in CSK’s success. It was his equation with skipper MS Dhoni which paved the way for his Indian debut in 2010 and his rise as one of the greatest spinners international and franchise cricket had ever seen. Despite being away from CSK for several years, it would not be too much to say that Ashwin is a ‘Made in CSK’ star.
Speaking on the channel, Ashwin said, “I feel I can play two or three leagues consecutively in a year. If franchises are open to offering me a coaching role, I am available to take up those roles as well. Like I told you, I am looking for work with work experience. You have to earn your stripes.”
He also spoke about how he tried to pitch a player-plus-coach role for himself in the IPL, but it did not work.
“It is very tough to get a mindset like that in India. When I was playing for the Rajasthan Royals, this topic was broached. We discussed whether I could become a coach and continue being a player for the franchise. But the idea did not go anywhere. In India, exploring that option in the IPL is very difficult,” he said.
“But maybe in some other league, there might be coaches that I can learn from. I can contribute. I want to contribute. I have played the role of captain-cum-coach in the TNPL (Tamil Nadu Premier League for Dindigul Dragons) in the last two years. We did not have a coach, and I learned a lot from that stint. The players are not at the IPL level, so you get the chance to do more work,” he added.
Ashwin said that in order to acquire something, one needs to work in a “structured manner”.
“Coaching is not like working on one aspect and you succeeding. You have to try, you have to fail, but most importantly, you cannot have likes and dislikes in coaching. Tomorrow, let’s say I coach in the Italy Premier League, I will enjoy coaching there because I will still be working in cricket. There might be differences in opinion among various stakeholders, but my role as a coach is to treat all players equally. Treat them like my kids. I have a lot of belief in that,” Ashwin added.
Speaking on his favourite IPL memory, Ashwin said that his favourite memory was seeing the auction and witnessing himself get picked up for CSK.