Ace Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is set to represent Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). This would be his fifth franchise in the cash-rich tournament after having played for the likes of Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in the past editions.
The Royals made a successful bid of Rs 5 crore to secure the services of Ashwin. But the more interesting part of this purchase was his association with English wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, whom the franchise decided to retain.
Following Ashwin’s purchase, the fans and the team-owners recalled the Mankading incident in 2019 when the off-spinner, while representing Punjab, ran out Buttler at the non-striker’s end after the batter had backed up too far.
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But Ashwin is looking forward to sharing the dressing room with the English cricketer. In a video shared on RR’s Instagram handle, Ashwin said he’s delighted to join the Sanju Samson-led side.
“Hello Everyone! Earlier today, I got picked up by Rajasthan Royals. I’m extremely delighted that they picked me. They tried hard to get me in the last auction in 2018, but it’s come through finally. I’ve got a great rapport with all of them in that dugout. Shared a wonderful rapport with Sanju as well. So, looking forward to giving my complete best for the franchise and hopefully do some special things over the course of the next three years,” Ashwin said.
“Looking forward to bowl alongside Yuzi. It’s going to be a lot of fun and most importantly, to share the dressing room with Jos, how good is that going to be?
“All things done, Halla Bol,” Ashwin concluded.
On the other hand, Buttler has also moved on from the bitter run-out episode as the franchise CEO Jake Lush McCrum said they spoke to Buttler about their preferences.
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“We spoke to Jos prior to the auction and just talked through all of our prioritisation of players. Honestly, he didn’t even think about it (his run out by Ashwin at the non-striker’s end in 2019). I had to sort of bringing it up to just check it was okay. And he said ‘it’s absolutely fine’,” Jake said at a media interaction.
“Maybe he will have to practice in the nets with him. But otherwise, on the field, they’re looking forward to playing together,” he added.
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