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Just a couple of weeks shy of his 39th birthday, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has called time on his IPL career, confirming that he won’t be back in 2026 for an 18th season.
It’s been a storied journey through IPL for the prolific off-spinner, who has turned out in the colours of Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, King XI Punjab, Rising Pune Supergiants and, most recently, for the Rajasthan Royals.
As Ashwin bows out from the game’s Premier franchise competition, let’s look at some of the records and milestones he leaves behind.
1. Seventh most IPL matches
Having made his IPL debut back in 2009, in the tournament’s second ever season, Ashwin has been around for a very long time.
The only players who have appeared in more games than his incredible 221 are players who debuted in 2008 and who, for the most part, are still playing.
Ahead of him on the list of most IPL games are the big names of MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Ravi Jadeja and Shikhar Dhawan – that’s some elite company to be keeping.
2. Fifth most IPL wickets
With a massive 187 scalps to his credit there are very few bowlers who have taken more wickets than Ashwin.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is the runaway leader atop the list with 221 wickets (thus far he is the only bowler to go past 200 in the IPL), followed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and then Ashwin.
Given that he has played 17 seasons of IPL cricket, that means he is averaging a very impressive 11 wickets a season.
3. Most IPL wickets by Indian off-spinner
He has been India‘s premier off-spinner for almost two decades and as such it comes as no surprise to discover that Ashwin if the all-time leading local finger-spinner in the IPL.
The spinners ahead of him on the list are leggies, and while Sunil Narine is a traditional finger-spinner, he is West Indian.
Also read: Ravichandran Ashwin retires from IPL – where did he finish among top 11 IPL wicket-takers?
4. Second most IPL wickets without five-for
Despite his prolific numbers in the wicket-taking column, Ashwin went his whole career without a five-for. Surprisingly he only managed four wickets in an innings once, despite bowling in a massive 217 innings.
While Piyush Chawla, the bowler immediately ahead of him on the wicket-takers list also failed to grab a five-for, he has two four wicket hauls to his name.
5. Joint 61st on list of most wickets in a season
It is one thing to perform well in a game or two, but Ashwin has been consistently top-class for 17. His best season was in 2011, when he was playing for Chennai Super Kings.
That season saw him bag an outstanding 20 wickets as CSK went all the way to the title, beating RCB in the final.
Ashwin was one of the star performers for CSK in that final as he opened the bowling and took the first two wickets to fall (including 2011’s Player of the Season Chris Gayle for a duck) in returning figures of three for 16 in his four overs.
6. 43rd best economy rate in IPL history
Over his outstanding career Ashwin hasn’t just been a wicket-taker, he has also been a key attacking instrument for his team by always keeping things tight and allowing other players to pick up wickets as opponents looked to force the pace at the other end.
He boasts the 43rd best economy rate of all bowlers in the IPL, a fantastic achievement. His 7.2 runs per over means he was able to keep it tight for 17 seasons – a genuine achievement.
7. Not just a bowler
As much as Ashwin will be remembered as one of the greatest IPL bowlers of all time, he was more than just a tweaker, he made valuable contributions across the park. His highest IPL was 50 and he bagged 52 catches across his career.
While there are players who have represented more IPL teams than him (Australia‘s Aaron Finch played for nine), Ashwin also sprinkled his magic widely across the IPL, turning out for a total of five different sides.
Read next: Listed – Every Indian Premier League century since 2017; record number of tons in 2024
The post Ravichandran Ashwin retires from the IPL with these 7 influential tournament stats appeared first on Cricket365.
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