New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) Former India off-spin veteran Ravichandran Ashwin reflected on his early days with Chennai Super Kings and recalled how he was first picked by the franchise, revealing that he thought his chances were over when the yellow army picked Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan in 2009.

The 39-year-old Chennai native began his journey with his home franchise, Chennai Super Kings, winning two titles. In the 2025 auctions, Ashwin got a homecoming as he was picked by CSK for a whopping 9.75 crores before announcing his retirement ahead of the 2026 season.

Ashiwn also credited his late mentor VB Chandrasekhar for paving the way for his selection in CSK. “I’ve always wanted to stay grateful. People come into your life, lay a stepping stone for you, and then move on and for me, that person was VB Chandrasekhar. He’s no longer with us, a life gone too soon. In Chennai’s league cricket, I was playing for Chemplast against MRF at Pachaiyappa’s ground when T20 was new and people felt spinners had no role, especially the finger spinners,” Ashiwn said on JioStar.

“During the auction, CSK had already picked Muttiah Muralitharan, and I thought my chances were gone. Then came the final of that same tournament at Chepauk, it was Chemplast vs India Cements, who owned CSK. I took six wickets. Kasi Viswanathan and Kris Srikkanth were there, and after I got Player of the Match, Srikkanth said ‘What, CSK didn’t pick you? Hey Kasi, take him, you should pick good players.’

“The next day, I got a call from VB Chandrasekhar. He told me, ‘I’ve been watching you for five years. In T20, I’m not sure about a finger spinner’s role, but you’ll learn a lot. Learn as much as you can—you can go far, your attitude is good’ and gave me the contract,” he recalled.

On finishing his IPL career with CSK, Ashwin said, “When I got the chance to play for CSK again, the first thought was that I could finish where I started. My intention was to play for 2-3 years. It didn’t happen, that’s a different story. I won’t go there now. But where it started, it finished there. And I had another small dream to finish at Chepauk. I couldn’t do that.

“My last IPL game was in Delhi. But if I had played at Chepauk, it would have been even better. Because my last ODI game was at Chepauk. There are many memories on that ground, it’s very close to my heart.”

Ashwin ended his IPL career as the league’s fifth-highest wicket-taker with 187 scalps in 221 games coming at an economy rate of 7.2. He also played for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals, and captained Kings XI Punjab (now known as Punjab Kings) in the IPL. He also amassed 833 runs with the bat in the IPL at a strike rate of 118, including hitting a fifty.

–IANS

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