Follow UsRavichandran Ashwin is not only an Indian cricket legend, but he’s also a bona fide Indian Premier League (IPL) legend. In his 16-year-long IPL career that started in 2009, Ashwin represented five teams, including Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Super Giants, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.
However, he will always be remembered for his exploits in yellow as he made his IPL debut for CSK, and quite poetically, ended his IPL career playing under MS Dhoni only. On the day he announced his retirement from IPL, let’s remember the three defining moments of his CSK career:
Ashwin debuted for CSK in 2009 but played only two games that season. However, he took two crucial wickets in those games, which was enough for MS Dhoni to make him his prime weapon in the 2010 Champions League, which was held in South Africa just like the 2009 IPL.
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He was the leading wicket-taker in that tournament, which was eventually won by CSK. He picked up 13 wickets in that tournament and was the Player of the Series. It was the first time the world got to see just how skilful and clever a cricketer Ashwin is. As it turned out, it was a great start for Ashwin in yellow, and he continued to be a great performer for the team for the next half a decade.
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It’s well known that Ashwin is a harbinger of death for left-handers worldwide. However, that image of his was solidified and popularised when he made arguably the greatest T20 batter of all time, Chris Gayle, dance to his tunes in the IPL. Not only that, Ashwin had his number in the most crucial games of the tournament.
In the 2011 IPL Qualifier and Final, Ashwin dismissed Gayle, who was the best batter that year in the league. He was crucial if RCB were to win the title, but Ashwin ensured that it never happened. He bowled a superb spell of 3/16 in the final, which was as clutch as it gets.
Overall, he dismissed Gayle five times in the IPL, and had an average of 10.6 against him, which shows Ashwin’s greatness against arguably the most lethal hitter of a cricket ball.
After leaving CSK in 2015, Ashwin plied his trade in the league for four other teams. However, CSK fans always wanted Ashwin back as he was one of the main reasons CSK were so dominant in the league from 2010 to 2015. Hence, Ashwin coming back to play for CSK was always something that fans looked at through a lens of rose-tinted nostalgia.
Ashwin finally returned to CSK in 2025, a full decade after leaving its shores. It was an extremely happy moment for the fans, as Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were back playing together under MS Dhoni. However, as fate would have it, Ashwin had a really poor season for CSK and didn’t even play all the games as he was dropped mid-season.
Somehow, that broke something between CSK and Ashwin as the latter was recently embroiled in controversial comments on CSK’s acquisition of Dewald Brevis, and that ultimately culminated with the off-spinner saying goodbye to not only CSK, but the IPL itself. His journey ended where it began.