Ravichandran Ashwin has confirmed that he pulled out of the International League T20’s inaugural auction after going unsold in the first round. He said the base price he set for himself — USD 120,000 (INR 1.06 crore) — was the ‘bare minimum’ for him, and he didn’t want to play if his ‘value wasn’t met’.
There was significant hype and buildup around the ILT20’s first auction when Ashwin signed up for it as his first move after announcing his retirement from Indian cricket. The UAE-based league will be into its fourth season this year and has been trying hard to compete with Australia’s Big Bash League and South Africa’s SA20.
The arrival of Ashwin, one of India’s biggest bona fide superstars, was considered huge for its popularity and viewership
in the sub-continent, which is the largest market for the sport.
“That’s the price I wanted as a bare minimum, and I’m happy not to play at this stage of my career if my value isn’t met,” Ashwin told Cricbuzz.
The ILT20 will run from December 2 this year to January 4, 2026. Ashwin has also signed up with Sydney Thunder in the BBL — which will begin on December 14 with the final on January 25 — and was supposed to join them immediately after the ILT20 ended for his prospective team.
Crucially, Ashwin also revealed that he had considered dropping out of the ILT20 auction before it even started.
“I was about to pull out a few days before the auction because of the Thunder deal, but since I had already committed to the ILT20 that I would enter the auction, I honoured my word. However, I did not agree to lowering my base price,” he added.
Ashwin has already been facing criticism for pulling out of the ILT20 auction. New Zealand ex-cricketer and ILT20 presenter Simon Doull said that Ashwin wailed to ‘read the room’ because teams were saving up money for him.
“We are hearing that he may have pulled out of the auction, which is a massive surprise. I mean, you have got to read the room. You have got to understand what is going on out there and all that money left, when there are 3-4 teams with over $400,000 left in their pot,” Doull said while speaking on the live auction broadcast on YouTube. “I don’t think they came here not wanting to spend money; it is there to be spent. If he pulled himself out, then he just has not read the room. I think sides would have gone in for him,” Doull added.
