Former India spinner R Ashwin called time on his Indian Premier League (IPL) career last year. The 38-year-old R Ashwin, who represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2025 edition of the tournament, said that he would now look to “explore” various other opportunities in the leagues around the world.
R Ashwin represented several teams in the IPL, such as CSK, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Rising Pune Supergiant, and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings). However, it is fair to say that he achieved most of his success with the five-time champions CSK. R Ashwin began his IPL career with the Chennai-based franchise and was part of the tournament-winning squad in 2010 and 2011.
R Ashwin’s stellar IPL career- A glimpse
The 38-year-old R Ashwin played a total of 221 matches in the IPL, where he took 187 wickets at an economy of 7.2, taking one four-wicket haul. Furthermore, R Ashwin has also scored 833 runs to his name in the 221 matches, maintaining an average of 13.01 runs. With the news of his IPL retirement, let us have a look at the 5 IPL records that are held by R Ashwin after his stellar career in the prestigious tournament.
Making his debut in 2009, R Ashwin only missed one IPL season (2017) due to injury, and with incredible consistency, the veteran sits in fifth place in the list of wicket-takers in IPL history. With 187 wickets to his name in 221 matches, R Ashwin finished his career as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in IPL history.
Notably, out of his 16 seasons in the IPL, R Ashwin played eight for Chennai Super Kings and finished his IPL career as the franchise’s third-highest wicket-taker with 97 wickets to his name. It is worth noting that R Ashwin led Punjab Kings in the IPL 2018 and 2019, and with 28 matches as captain in the IPL, R Ashwin has the fifth most wickets as a skipper in the tournament’s history. With 25 wickets in 28 matches as captain, R Ashwin is only behind the likes of Shane Warne, Hardik Pandya, Pat Cummins, and Anil Kumble.
One of the most economical bowlers in IPL history, Ashwin also has the third most dot balls in IPL history. A total of 1,663 dot balls were bowled by R Ashwin in his IPL history, only behind Sunil Narine and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Furthermore, R Ashwin sits at the mountaintop in the list of players with the most balls bowled in IPL history. With 4,710 balls bowled in 221 IPL matches, R Ashwin finished his IPL career with the most balls bowled of any player in the tournament’s history.
Ashwin has featured for five teams in the Indian Premier League and even captained the Punjab franchise during his stint there. Over the course of his IPL career, he has represented Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiants, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals.
Ashwin retires as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the history of the tournament, behind Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunil Narine and Piyush Chawla. He has also scored 833 runs, including one half-century, for Rajasthan Royals.
The spinner played his final season for his home team, CSK. He picked up 7 wickets and scored 33 runs in his 9 outings in the tournament. Ashwin was involved in other controversies amidst CSK’s struggles in 2025. Last season, Ashwin was called out due to his YouTube channel, which had criticised Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad, his CSK teammate.
Ashwin had earlier revealed that he has sought clarity from Chennai Super Kings ahead of the 2026 season. Ashwin was bought by CSK for Rs 9.75 crore at the IPL 2025 mega-auction in what was billed as an emotional homecoming for the former India spinner. However, the campaign turned out to be a forgettable one for Ashwin, as his performances fell short of expectations.
In his IPL career, Ashwin played 221 matches, taking 187 wickets at an economy of 7.20 with his best figures being 4/34. In the 2011 final, Ashwin famously dismissed Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Chris Gayle in the opening over, paving the way for a CSK win.Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers reckons Ravichandran Ashwin should’ve never left CSK as he was “never settled” at other teams.
Ab De Villiers is in all praise of R Ashwin and his IPL tenure with CSK post his retirement ahead of IPL 2026
After playing 221 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for five teams – Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Super Giants, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals – from 2009 to 2025, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took to X on August 27 to announce his retirement from the world’s richest franchise cricket league. The 38-year-old cricketer from Chennai, in his retirement post, mentioned that he would like to play in various T20 leagues around the world after his retirement from Indian cricket.
It was reported last week that he is keen to become the first Indian cricketer to feature in The Hundred, and on Sunday (August 31), it was also reported that he has registered himself for the International League T20 (ILT20)—the premier T20 competition in the United Arab Emirates, where three out of six teams are owned by IPL franchises.
R Ashwin’s retirement from IPL did surprise a few, but it was on expected lines as well. Ashwin was signed for Rs 9.75 crore by CSK in the IPL 2025 mega auction, but he failed to live up to the billing and was even dropped from the playing XI mid-season by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It was expected that CSK would release Ashwin ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, but before CSK could make any decision, Ashwin stepped away by himself.
R Ashwin played a total of 106 IPL matches for CSK in two different stints – first from 2009 to 2016 and second in 2025. He won two IPL titles with CSK and finished as the third-highest wicket-taker for the franchise.
R Ashwin, who is one of the greatest Indian cricketers of all time, is also an IPL legend, and former South African batter and captain AB de Villiers praised his CSK legacy by saying that he will always remember him as the yellow jersey guy. He also praised R Ashwin’s wisdom and said that he always has a lot of respect for guys who study the game.
“Stellar career. It has got to be said, what a wonderful player. What a scientist of the game. A doctor, professor of the game. He always took it to the limits of the rule book. Generally got it right, even though he was frowned upon a little bit. I have a lot of respect for guys who study the game, and he was one of such cricketers,” De Villiers said during a 360 Live session on X.
“Incredible skill. A huge player and icon in India. He won so many games for Team India and CSK over the years. He played for other teams but never felt settled at those teams. In my opinion, he should have always stayed at CSK. Obviously, it was not up to him, as a lot of things go into that retention, all kinds of team selection. But I will always remember him as a yellow jersey guy,” he added.
De Villiers, who scored more than 5000 runs in the IPL during his 184-match career from 2008 to 2021, also praised Ashwin’s batting.
“Very underrated with the bat in hand. It is not spoken enough about how he showed a lot of character with the bat in hand. Generally, with Team India in trouble, he would have sort of come through,” said de Villiers.
R Ashwin was part of the CSK squad from 2008 to 2015. He then spent nine other seasons at different clubs. However, a homecoming was in store when he was picked before the 2025 mega auction in Saudi Arabia. CSK signed Ashwin for the IPL 2025 season for INR 9.75 crore. However, the spinner failed to live up to expectations, returningjust seven wickets in nine games. The off-spinner also lacked the bite, which was the main reason behind his leaking runs in the powerplay.
R Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024, midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. He finished his career as the second-highest wicket-taker for India, only behind Anil Kumble.
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