Ravichandran Ashwin Set to Appear in Big Bash League for the First Time

Indian spin bowling great, Ravichandran Ashwin, is all set to feature in the upcoming BBL season. Currently, he is being chased by four BBL teams, including Sydney Thunder, Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Sixers and Adelaide Strikers for the Australian T20 marquee event. It is yet to be seen who ultimately gets the signature of R Ashwin, as he is indeed a precious spin bowling resource.

Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes are said to be the frontrunners to secure the services of Ashwin. The final decision is expected to come out in the coming weeks. If the deal is finalized, Ashwin would become the first capped male Indian player to feature in the BBL.

According to the restrictive BCCI policies, only retired players are allowed to play in the overseas T20 leagues. This is the key reason why we do not see capped Indian players feature in different T20 competitions. Whether it's BBL or CPL, no capped player is allowed to take part in the T20 leagues other than IPL.

Due to this, we recently saw Dinesh Karthik appearing for Paarl Royals in the SA20. Similarly, Ambati Rayudu played for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the CPL 2023. He then again featured for MI Emirates in the ILT20 2024. Robin Uthappa and Yusuf Pathan are also some of the retired players who have played for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20.

R Ashwin’s recent retirement from IPL allowed him to explore opportunities in other T20 leagues. He has remained one of the best performers in the IPL for many years, hence getting his services for the BBL matches is an exceptional thing for any team.

Ashwin has also committed to feature in the ILT20 league this year. The auction for that will be happening next Tuesday, where teams will be eagerly looking to secure his services for the tournament. The league will run from December 2 to January 4. This schedule makes Ashwin’s availability in the BBL a bit critical. It is now understood that if Ashwin is picked in the ILT20 auction, he will play the complete tournament.

This means that Ashwin would be available for BBL teams in the latter half of the tournament. Nevertheless, teams would be looking to secure him for crunch BBL matches, as he brings a wealth of T20 experience for such games.

Big Bash League is slated to start from December 14, and it will run until January 18. This year would be pretty special for the league, as Pakistan stars including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan are also set to appear in the BBL for the first time.