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R Ashwin breaks silence on going unsold in ILT20 Auction, says USD 120,000 price ‘bare minimum’: 'Happy not to play...'
R Ashwin stated that he had no intention of reducing his base price and would participate in the tournament only if his valuation was met.
Ravichandran Ashwin has explained why he opted out of the ILT20 2026 Auction during the accelerated round after going unsold initially. Following his IPL retirement in August, he sought opportunities in overseas leagues and set his top-category base price at USD 120,000 (around INR 1.06 crore) for the ILT20 bidding. However, he found no buyers when his name first went under the hammer, which came as a shock to many. While he still had a chance to get picked in the accelerated round, he decided to opt out of it.
Ashwin stated that he had no intention of reducing his base price and would participate in the tournament only if his valuation was met.
"That's the price I wanted as a bare minimum, and I'm happy not to play at this stage of my career if my value isn't met," Ashwin told Cribuzz.
Meanwhile, the veteran spinner has already signed for the Big Bash League (BBL) season 15, where he will represent the Sydney Thunder.
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The 39-year-old revealed that he had recently considered withdrawing from the ILT20 auction due to his BBL commitment but chose to honour his commitment to the UAE-based T20 franchise league.
"I was about to pull out a few days before the auction because of the Thunder deal, but since I had already committed to the ILT20 that I would enter the auction, I honoured my word. However, I did not agree to lowering my base price," he said.
Ashwin to play entire BBL season
He will be the first cricketer who has played for the Indian men's cricket team to represent a BBL club. Meanwhile, he has now confirmed that he will be playing for the Thunder for the complete season.
"I have signed up with Sydney Thunder for the entire season," he said.
Meanwhile, Ashwin boasts a stellar IPL career. He retired as a legend after 221 matches across five franchises, making him the seventh most-capped player in the league. A two-time champion with Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011, he claimed 187 IPL wickets (fifth all-time) and 317 wickets in 333 T20 games overall. He was sold for a whopping INR 9.75 crore when he went under the hammer in IPL 2025 mega auction.
