There were rumours on social media days before all ten teams submitted their list of retained players that the last Indian T20 League runners-up, Rajasthan, might release Ravichandran Ashwin from their squad.
Ashwin responded to the rumours by saying that it felt good to play along with such fake news knowing what his fate would be. The veteran spinner also stated that his mother believed the rumours that Rajasthan intended to release Ashwin from their squad.
“We didn’t have any doubts about that. But still, it felt nice to play along with these rumours. I know that I am going to be a part of the team and that I haven’t been released,” Ashwin said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“In fact, even my mother came and asked why RR released me. I told her yes, they were going to release me. But RR didn’t say that. It was only the others. I was seeing myself as news from the outside when I knew the actual truth,” Ashwin added.
Ashwin said that he was saddened when such rumours began to circulate on social media, especially after he performed well for the franchise last year. However, an email from Rajasthan assured Ashwin that he would play for them again in the Indian T20 League in 2023.
“Even I felt sad since I did reasonably well for them last year. But then I received an email from RR stating that they were extremely pleased to retain me this year. Only then I realized that my release was just a rumour,” Ashwin concluded.
Here’s how the Rajasthan team looks like ahead of the mini-auction
Current Squad: Sanju Samson (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa
Players Released: Anunay Singh, Corbin Bosch, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Shubham Garhwal, Tejas Baroka
Remaining Purse: Rs 13.2 crore
Remaining Overseas Slots: 4
