Ravichandran Ashwin would like to return to Chennai Super Kings

Things are heating up as we build up to the IPL 2022 mega auction, to be held on the February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. In a candid chat with former IPL auctioneer Richard Madley, Ashwin confided that he wouldn’t mind returning to the franchise where he first made a name for himself, Chennai Super Kings.

Ravi Ashwin was engaged in an interesting chat with Richard Madley on his YouTube channel. The pair discussed several things related to the widely-anticipated IPL auction. An interesting point of conversation was the fact that Ashwin expressed his desire to return to his first ever IPL franchise. But he also added that the prospect of his return to Chennai Super Kings might be difficult because the defending champions have already decided to retain England all-rounder Moeen Ali.

“But yeah, I am 35 now, it will be nice to come back to where I started but they already have an off-spinner with them in Moeen Ali. So I don’t know how they are gonna go about it, so let’s wait and watch,” he said.

The veteran spin-bowling all-rounder burst on to the scene with a successful stint with Chennai Super Kings where he debuted in 2009. Ashwin quickly became an integral part of the team and managed to impress heavily under MS Dhoni’s captaincy. His performances in the IPL soon paved his path to the Indian national team.

Ravi Ashwin was a part of Chennai Super Kings before the franchise got suspended for two years because of match-fixing. He had joined Punjab Kings in the IPL 2018 auction for INR 7.6 crores. Ashwin captained the side for two seasons, albeit without much success, and was then traded to Delhi Capitals. The 35-year-old had represented the erstwhile Rising Pune Supergiant franchise before playing for Punjab Kings.

“Actually, to be very honest, I have got no clue about where I might be ending up. The reason being it’s early up in the auction, some teams have got money, some teams have already retained a lot of players and I just feel it’s going to be a real topsy-turvy sort of a curve,” Ashwin added when quizzed about which team he might end up at.