Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has represented five franchises in his Indian Premier League (IPL) career. After Chennai Super Kings (CSK) faced a two-season ban, he played a season for now-defunct Rising Pune Super Giants, then moved to Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) and captained them as well, played two seasons for Delhi Capitals (DC), then three seasons for Rajasthan Royals (RR) before ending his career in the yellow jersey. Ashwin rues not winning the title with RR.
“My only small regret is that I couldn’t win a title with RR. That was one small regret," Ashwin said.
RR faced Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2022 final. Ashwin departed for a single-digit score as RR managed to post a below par score of 130/9. With the ball, he was expensive, conceding 32 runs and remained wicketless.
However, Ashwin said that they way RR utilised him was exceptional as he enjoyed his game unlike anywhere else.
“I spent three years there, and that stint helped me make a comeback to the Indian team. The way RR utilised me was first-class, and I enjoyed my cricket there like nowhere else," he said.
Ashwin’s record at Rajasthan Royals
Ashwin played 45 games for RR, claiming 35 wickets at an average of 38.22. From 31 innings, he scored 344 runs at an average of 18.10 and strike rate of 132.30. His only IPL fifty came in RR jersey against his former franchise DC in a losing cause.
Ashwin's immense learnings as Punjab captain
Ashwin led the Punjab franchise in two seasons but could not take them to playoffs. The 39-year-old said that he gave his everything to the franchise as skipper but couldn’t make it his own.
“When Punjab picked me in 2018, I knew I was moving on, I spent two years there and honestly gave it everything," Ashwin said.
“But I have a slight feeling that I couldn’t make that team my own. At an auction, you get the chance to build your team, the team couldn’t quite be built around me.
“I may not have achieved much as a Captain, but the learnings were immense," he added.
He led the Punjab franchise in 28 games. As captain, he won 12 games. Punjab gave the captaincy to KL Rahul after but it did not have an effect. The musical chair continued with Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan and Sam Curran leading the franchise until they roped in Shreyas Iyer.