In a surprise, the former India spinner-Ravichandran Ashwin-was left unsold in the inaugural International League T20 (ILT20) player auctions held in Dubai on Wednesday.
At a base price of $120,000, which was the highest in this tournament, none of the franchises offered a single bid. But it’s not over yet for the star Indian spinner, as the unsold players will go for the second round of auctions later this evening.
The 37-year-old had registered for the ILT20 Auctions organised by the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) in the UAE earlier last month.
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After he hung up his gloves in international cricket in late-December 2024 to step away from the IPL toward the end of August, Ashwin is preparing to embark on his inaugural overseas T20 league stint. Under the BCCI rules, active Indian players are not allowed to feature in foreign leagues to preserve the exclusivity of the IPL. Players who have retired from international cricket like Ashwin may opt to participate after they have severed all ties with Indian cricket professionally.
Junaid Siddique of UAE went for $170,000 to Sharjah Warriorzs while $140k was paid for UAE’s Muhammad Rohid by MI Emirates.
Ashwin has played 333 T20s, in which he has 317 dismissals to his credit to go with 1233 runs with the bat.
From 2009 to 2025, Ashwin appeared in 221 matches of IPL representing five teams: Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Super Giants, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, taking an aggregate of 187 wickets.
His final IPL outing was held in Delhi on May 20, 2025, where he picked up 2 for 41 in four overs.
