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On August 27, India’s legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin drew curtains on his Indian Premier League (IPL) career. Made his debut and played his last season with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Ashwin also announced that he will explore options to play in overseas leagues. As per the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian players can’t play in overseas leagues as long as they are part of the IPL. Ashwin’s decision did not sit well with 1983 World Cup winner and former chief selector Kris Srikkanth. The former opening batter believes that Ashwin could have played in the IPL for two more years.
“I am not sure why Ashwin retired. If I were in his place, I would have continued playing IPL for at least another two years. Of course, for Ashwin, money, fame or name is not an issue. But he could have played in the IPL for another two years and then gone on to play in the other leagues,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth went on to say that other T20 leagues don’t come close to the standards of the IPL.
“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,” he opined.
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Srikkanth praises Ashwin
Ashwin was part of CSK's maiden IPL title win in 2010 and the one in subsequent year. Srikkanth labelled Ashwin as one of the best cricketers to play in the IPL. He recalled how the off-spinner would dismiss former West Indies opener Chris Gayle.
“Ashwin has been one of the best IPL cricketers India has produced. His name to fame itself was through the IPL and CSK, especially when he kept dismissing Chris Gayle for fun,” he remarked.
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When Ashwin dismissed Gayle in IPL 2011 final
In the IPL 2011 final, Ashwin dismissed RCB's Gayle for a three-ball duck in the first over of the run chase. He also dismissed opener Mayank Agarwal and captain Daniel Vettori. Owing to Ashwin's 3 for 16, CSK won the final by a comfortable margin of 58 runs.
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