In a major development, former India international off-spinner R Ashwin took centre stage and announced that he would be retiring from the IPL (Indian Premier League) ahead of the 2026 edition. It is worth noting that R Ashwin made his IPL debut back in 2009 and has been an integral part of any side that he has been a part of in the tournament.
Retired India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin called time on his Indian Premier League career on Wednesday, August 27. Ashwin took to his social media account to announce the decision. The legendary spinner played 221 matches in the competition and picked up 187 wickets.
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. Former Indian Selector and batter Kris Srikkanth believes that R Ashwin could have played for 2 more years in IPL.
Kris Srikkanth made a shocking statement regarding R Ashwin’s retirement from IPL before IPL 2026
Former Indian selector Kris Srikkanth believes Chennai Super Kings(CSK) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin could have played in the IPL for another two years. R Ashwin surprised Indian cricket fans by announcing his IPL Retirement on Wednesday 27th August 2025. The 38-year-old endured a poor IPL season in 2025 season with the ball, picking up only seven wickets in nine matches at an average of 40,42 and an economy of 9.12.
Speaking on his Youtube channel about R Ashwin’s IPL retirement on his Youtubechannel Srikkanth said :
“I am not sure why Ashwin retired. If I were in his place, I would have continued playing IPL for atleast another two years. Ofcourse for Ashwin, money, fame or name is not an issue. He has all of those in abundance. But, he could have played in the IPL for another two years and then gone on to play in the other leagues.”
R Ashwin said that he will now explore opportunities in Global T20 leagues after exit from IPL , to which Srikkanth said :
“Probably, other Indian cricketers will also follow this approach of playing in other leagues once their time in the IPL is up. However, the recognition and visibility a player gets in the IPL, is much higher than those from all leagues. So, one can play other leagues for the sake of it but what you get in the IPL, other leagues don’t come close to it.”
R Ashwin’s struggle in 2025 resulted in CSK finishing at the bottom of the table in IPL 2025 for the first time in history. Kris Srikkanth called R Ashwin as one of the best IPL cricketers from India. The champion off-spinner played a crucial role in CSK’s first two IPL title in 2010 and 2011. He also helped the franchise to win two Champions League T20 Titles in 2010 and 2014.
“Ashwin has been one of the best IPL cricketers India has produced. His name to fame itself was through the IPL. Though he had done well in the domestic competitions and for India in Tests, but he was first recognised through the IPL and CSK, especially when he kept dismissng Chris Gayle for fun,” said Srikkanth.
The Former skipper concluded :
“He was both an attacking and an economical bowler in the IPL. I am only surprised that he is walking away in the middle of a three-year cycle after the Mega auction last year. In a way, it’s a good sign that players retiring from India can become coaches or players in foreign leagues.”
With Ashwin no longer a BCCI-contracted player, he is unlikely to face any issue participating in The Hundred. For the unversed, BCCI’s rules bar India’s male cricketers from participating in overseas T20 leagues, unless they retire from Indian cricket at all levels. However, women cricketers face no such issue, and in the past, several Indian female stars have featured in The Hundred.
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