After a lackluster season amid rumors of the team cutting ties with the veteran off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has sought clarification from the Chennai Super Kings after playing just nine of the possible 14 games in IPL 2025.
Ashwin played just nine games and claimed seven wickets at an economy rate of 9.12 during CSK’s worst season in 2025.
“Last year, I played only nine games; in all my years of playing in the IPL, that was the first year I played just nine games. I always used to play every game for whichever franchise I was in, so it was my first experience like that. I asked for clarity from my side, but I asked for it during the IPL season itself,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, while addressing the buzz about a potential trade involving him and Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson.
Samson reportedly wants to leave the Royals after a long association.
“If Samson’s trade is to happen, CSK will have to keep 18 crores free, and then you have to see who you can release to make that space,” he said. “If tomorrow I’m not in the CSK team, it might benefit them — there’s no doubt about that. But it can’t all be about me,” he added.
Additionally, Ashwin discussed how he can always voice his desire to quit a team, even though not everything is up to him.
“Now, a player can express that he does or does not have an interest in renewing the contract and hence can seek clarity. So in this situation, where I am right now, I only sought clarity, which I had, in fact, asked for after the season had ended.
“Right now, there is nothing in my hand. And all these rumours do not come from the player. Take the situation with Sanju, it was not he who said anything. It was either rumours from here and there or from the franchise. And there are a lot of layers to this,” he said.
He also explained the mechanics of player trades, which can involve part-cash and part-player exchanges, same-price swaps, or outright cash deals.
“I became a CSK player last year at 9.5 crores, and Sanju Samson’s price is 18 crores at RR. If CSK want to take an 18-crore player, they will have to keep 18 crores free, or they can directly trade with RR.
“You can also trade somewhere else and take him in just a cash deal. I am not saying this is happening because I am conflicted in this matter. I work a little bit with the academy and am working with CSK, so I don’t have any inside news.
“A lot of meetings happen, and decisions are made there on what will be done, and I have no current communication on it. Of course, I can ask for clarity— I have already asked before: what my role is, how I can get better, etc,” he reiterated.
