Kolkata : Former Indian iconic spinner Ravi Ashwin is set to participate in Australia’s Big Bash League, playing for Sydney Thunder, for upcoming edition. Ashwin retired from IPL recently after hanging boots in international Cricket, making him eligible to play for overseas league, and thus, will be the first high profile Indian Cricketer to feature in the Aussie League.
The official announcement from the franchise is expected later this week as Ashwin will take the field alongside David Warner, who is the captain of the Thunder. According to reports, Ashwin is ‘understood to have committed to Sydney Thunder’. However, he will not be available for the franchise for the entire season as he is also committed to featuring in the upcoming ILT20 edition.
Coming back to Ashwin joining Sydney Thunder, he might end up playing alongside Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf, who was signed by the franchise earlier this year. Things are heated up between the two countries at the moment as even the Indian team refused to shake hands during the ongoing Asia Cup clashes. It remains to be seen if Ashwin will also keep his distance from Shadab when he joins him in the dressing room.
Ashwin has entered his name in the first-ever auction of ILT20 that is set to take place on October 1 and has listed his name in the highest base price bracket. If picked in the auction, the off-spinner will play the entire ILT20 season, which is scheduled to end on January 4, and then will travel to Australia to honour his BBL commitments for Sydney Thunder. Notably, the league stage of the BBL 2025-26 will run until January 18 and then the playoffs, including the final, will take place from January 20 to 25.
Earlier, it was reported that three more teams apart from the Sydney Thunder had shown their interest in signing Ashwin for the upcoming season. Sydney Sixers, Hobart Hurricanes and Adelaide Strikers were interested to secure the services of the 39-year-old but the Thunder have eventually managed to snap him up. All the entire details of his contract is expected to be revealed soon by the Sydney Thunder in the coming days.
