Ravichandran Ashwin to Bring His Spin Magic to Sydney Thunder in BBL

Ravichandran Ashwin set to take a bold new decision as a player of Indian origin with massive contract in overseas league.

Ravichandran Ashwin to Bring His Spin Magic to Sydney Thunder in BBL

Ravichandran Ashwin (Image via BCCI/X)

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The Indian fans have missed the bowling of one of their biggest stars, Ravichandran Ashwin, for a while now. Ashwin, who retired from international cricket in 2024, sent shock waves through the nation as for long period he was the prime weapon of the Indian Test team.

He did follow that retirement up with a comeback to the Chennai Super Kings, but it didn’t prove to be very successful as he could muster only 7 wickets in the 9 matches he played. Following a dismal season for the team and for him, Ravichandran Ashwin further disappointed his fans by announcing retirement from the Indian Premier League as well.

However, with retirement news one after the other, the star bowler finally had come with a news of joy and excitement for the fans. The off spinner has decided to join the Sydney Thunder for the upcoming Big Bash League, becoming the first prominent Indian cricketer to take part in the Australian T20 cricket league.

This is a bold and new move by the spinner as he aims to explore different cricketing avenues for one last time before he calls time on his career once and for all. The Sydney Thunder team plays most of their matches at the Sydney Showground Stadium.

That is ideal for a spinner like Ashwin as the pitch out there offers some turn and bounce, which would be something the tall off spinner would crave. He will play under the leadership of David Warner, who often has said how much he admires the grit and aggression of Ashwin.

Incidentally, Warner had also featured on Ashwin’s YouTube channel a few months back, making it a very happy reunion for the pair. If Ashwin has a successful season, he very well could lay the future path for Indian cricketers who announce their retirements from the national side and the IPL.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik: Two players from the same state breaking barriers

Ravichandran Ashwin, with his move to play in the upcoming season of the Big Bash League, is following the footsteps of his Tamil Nadu teammate Dinesh Karthik. Following his Indian team and IPL retirement, Karthik too went forward to take part in the SA20 league held in South Africa.

He was the first prominent Indian name to break the barriers and explore cricket elsewhere in the world. Karthik didn’t have the best of seasons personally, with just one fifty plus score under his belt, but certainly showed his peers that it was not a bad idea playing in some other league around the world.

Ravichandran Ashwin to follow Dinesh Karthik's career path.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik (Image via cricTracker)

This is something the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has restricted players from doing. However, now with Ashwin too taking part in leagues other than IPL, it may create a new culture and many possibilities for Indian cricketers who love T20 cricket.

Rumors further state that Ashwin is also likely to take part in many such leagues going forward. Over his career, Ashwin has often shown that he is a pure cricket lover and shows no fuss about what tournament he plays. The off-spinner has been seen taking full part in the Tamil Nadu T20 League and also sometimes captured playing street cricket back in Chennai.

One can be assured that adapting to the Sydney team culture wouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Indian stalwart. Fans of the off-spinner around the globe can hope to see Ashwin in action on the 16th of December, that is when the Sydney Thunder play their first match of the season against Hobart Hurricanes. The Big Bash League, though, will start on the 14th of the same month with the Perth Scorchers taking on the Sydney Sixers.

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