Recently Ashwin spoke about a possible IPL trade that might involve him and Sanju Samson switching teams for 2026 season.
This all started after reports said Samson wanted RR to either release him or trade him before the mini-auction. Reports also said Ashwin might be leaving CSK and CSK is interested in Samson which led to the trade idea.
Ashwin said this was the first time he played only 9 out of 14 league games for CSK. He was used to playing in almost every game for his previous teams so this was a new experience. He asked CSK to tell him what his role would be.
Ashwin said when he played for RR the CEO would send him a performance review after a year. They would discuss their expectations and say they want to renew his contract for another year and it would be a 1+1+1 contract. He said every year when the contract ends the franchise should tell the players if they want to keep them or let them go.
He said every player wants to know where they stand especially when there are rumors like the one involving him and Samson. He clarified he has no control over the situation and has only asked for clarity.
About the trade rumors Ashwin said if Samson is up for trade RR has to answer that question. He said RR would ask Samson if he wants to leave and give the player a choice. He said if a player doesn’t want to stay it makes sense not to keep them. He also said he hasn’t been told about any conversations between the teams and won’t share even if he had.
Read Also:- Is Riyan Parag Replaced Sanju Samson as RR Captain?
In other news Ashwin spoke about his predictions for the most expensive buys at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. He thinks overseas players will be more in demand than Indian players.
Ashwin said it will be hard to get Indian players at the mini-auction and new players might be the only ones available. He said the priciest players will be from overseas because releasing a big Indian player is too big a risk for a franchise. He expects many Australian players to be in the auction.
He specifically mentioned Mitchell Owen and Cameron Green as two Australian stars who could get a lot of money at the mini-auction, said their value as foreign all-rounders. Ashwin thinks teams will spend around 25-30 crore at the mini-auction. He also said Mayank Yadav the fast bowler of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) could be one of the big Indian players in the auction even though LSG retained him for 11 crore. He has been injured frequently and hasn’t played much.
