In the growing Indian-less Twenty20 frenzy in the UAE, a shocker was delivered when Ashwin was left unsold at Wednesday’s sellers’ auction. Ashwin had been making headlines for a while after quitting international cricket and announcing his IPL retirement earlier this year. In fact, it is said that he kept ILT20 on his radar for one of the many overseas leagues he wished to participate in. That fact became even clearer when barely days after having been confirmed to take part in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the spinner went unsold in the ILT20 auction. However, a twist has developed after the news of the spinner being left unsold.
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Ashwin was the only player to have a price base above six figures, at USD 120,000, though he was not seen in the accelerated auction as well. But the good news is he could get signed as a wild-card. There has been a-tone of speculation as to why no franchise appeared interested in Ashwin, with one version now claiming that he might have indeed withdrawn from the auction at the last minute.
“We’re hearing that he may have pulled out of the auction, which is a massive surprise. I mean, you’ve got to read the room,” said New Zealand’s Simon Doull during the live auction broadcast.
“You’ve got to understand what’s happening out there and with all that money left, when three or four teams walk away with more than $400,000 each in their pot. I don’t think they came here not to spend money-it’s there to be spent. If he took himself out, then he simply hasn’t read the room. I think sides would have gone in for him,” he said.
Notes should also be taken of the fact that the ILT20 runs from 2 December to 4 January, hence, between the dates of the BBL, which starts on 14 December and continues until 25 January. Given that Ashwin has signed with the Sydney Thunder for the upcoming season, it becomes quite difficult to be playing in a parallel league.
Perhaps the experienced Indian spinner chose to withdraw from ILT20 to avoid double commitments and the strain of back-and-forth between the UAE and Australia for two T20 leagues simultaneously.
