Ravichandran Ashwin Retires from IPL 2025: The Glorious Journey of a “Captain Without Armband”

After spreading the magic of his spin bowling for almost 18 seasons in IPL, Ravichandran Ashwin’s golden journey in T20 cricket came to an end this year in 2025. Ravichandran Ashwin, who is the master of spin and also a game changer, said goodbye to IPL this year.

From the year 2009 till now, Ravichandran Ashwin has made IPL an interesting game with his unique and new experiments in spin.

Special day and hence a special beginning.

They say every ending will have a new start, my time as an IPL cricketer comes to a close today, but my time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today🤓.

Would like to thank all the franchisees for all the…

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) August 27, 2025

Ashwin’s IPL Journey (Chronological Career Highlights)

Talking about Ashwin’s IPL journey, it has been quite inspiring because the heights he has reached from being a young spinner to becoming a legend are inspiring for everyone.

He started his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2009. Playing with MS Dhoni, he set a new standard in IPL with his carrom bowling talents. Ashwin played a huge role in CSK winning the IPL trophy in 2010 and 2011.

In 2016, due to the temporary ban of CSK, Ashwin joined Rising Pune Supergiants. Like CSK, there too, with the help of his magical bowling, he emerged as an important bowler under the captaincy of Steve Smith.

After that, in 2018, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) signed him and also gave him the chance to captaincy. Where he showed his brilliance not only as a bowler but also as a tactical leader.

In the year 2020-2021, he joined Delhi Capitals. Under the guidance of team coach Risky Ponting and captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, he showed a new thinking with aggressive bowling in powerplay and controlled bowling in the middle overs.

played for Rajasthan Royals from 2022 till his retirement in 2025. Thanks to his seniority and mentorship, many young spinners like Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Sen learned a lot from him.

After playing 16 seasons, he made his important contribution with almost all the league franchises

Ashwin’s Stats & Records in IPL

Ravichandran Ashwin’s IPL numbers are very interesting, which prove that he is a great player. Some of his major stats and records are as follows:

Matches Played: He has played more than 200 matches so far with consistent presence in all 16 seasons.

Total Wickets: 170+ wickets – He has dismissed many big batsmen due to his magical bowling.

Best Bowling Figures: 4 wickets for 34 runs – proof of his match-winning spells.

Economy Rate: Around 7.0 – Only a great player like Ravichandran Ashwin can have so much control in a fast-paced format like T20.

Powerplay Specialist: There are very rare Indian spinners in IPL who have put pressure on aggressive opening batsmen by starting bowling with the new ball.

Most Dot Balls: Ashwin is one of the top spinners in IPL history who has bowled the most dot balls, which shows that he not only took wickets but was also a master of building pressure in the match.

Ashwin the Innovator

Since the inception of IPL, all the franchise players have always considered Ashwin as a ‘bowling scientist’ because of his new bowling experiments.

Magic of Carrom Ball: Ashwin confused many big batsmen in IPL with his famous carrom ball. This was one such delivery which he adopted from tennis ball cricket and brought to the world-class level in IPL

Mankading Controversy: The biggest controversy of Ashwin’s IPL was Mankading. He ran-out Jos Buttler while playing for Punjab Kings when he left the crease and went ahead. Due to this incident, a debate started in the cricket world whether this is against the ‘spirit of cricket’ or is it correct according to the rules? Ashwin made his stance clear: “If it is within the rules, it is not wrong.” This shows his fearless and uncompromising nature.

Captain Without Armband: Ashwin was called ‘captain without armband’ because even though he did not have captaincy, he used to give bowling changes, field placements and tactical suggestions on the field with his sharp cricketing brain. These qualities made him a cricketer of a different level.

What Next for Ashwin?

This is a bit strange but after retirement from IPL, there is only one question in the minds of all the fans – what will Ashwin do now?

International Cricket (Tests): Talking about Ashwin’s Test cricket, he is still a key Test bowler for India. His experience in both overseas and domestic cricket is very valuable. So there are high chances that he will continue his Test career and maybe emerge as a hero once again in the World Test Championship.

Coach or Mentor: Ashwin’s sharp cricketing brain has always been praised. Every franchise used to call him ‘captain without armband’. In the future, mentoring young spinners or becoming a bowling coach for any IPL/International team can be one of his favourite roles. However, he was still playing a mentor-type role with Rajasthan Royals.

Commentary & Analysis: Just like Harsha Bhogle and Ravi Shastri, if he picks up the mic, his commentary or analysis will definitely be liked by the fans.

Outside Cricket: Ashwin’s YouTube show ‘Let’s Crack It With Ash’ and his analytical style are quite popular among the youngsters. His unique perspective makes him a thinker and storyteller.

That is why we can say that retirement from IPL is just the end of one chapter – Ashwin’s story is still left. And who knows, the next chapter might be even more exciting?