Ahead of the big auction in the Indian T20 League 2023 in December, all the teams have submitted their retention list. There are some big names who have been released from their respective franchises such as Australian skipper Pat Cummins by the Kolkata Franchise, and the New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson by Hyderabad.
There were some rumours that Rajasthan might release the veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. When asked, Ashwin said that it felt nice to play along with this fake news when he knew what the truth was all along. Earlier this year, he was sold to Rajasthan for INR 5 crore.
“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.
I was seeing myself as news from the outside: Ashwin
Ashwin said that he felt bad to hear such rumours about him even after doing so well in the previous season for Rajasthan. He played 17 matches in the cash-rich-league earlier this year and was able to bag 12 wickets. He said that when the Rajasthan management sent him an email, stating that they were “very pleased” to retain him this year, it was then he realized that the rumours making rounds on social media were not true at all.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel that even his mother believed that he was going to be released by the franchise and asked him why he was being released. The 36-year-old said that he just played along and let his mother believe in the rumours for a while.
“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.
