After Punjab Kings, Ashwin could make a captaincy comeback in a franchise league

Ravichandran Ashwin will start a new chapter in his cricket career soon. When he announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL), he had hinted at going the franchise cricket route.

This was confirmed yesterday as Ashwin signed by for the International League T20 (ILT20) 2026 auction. Still one of the biggest names, it’s expected that he’ll be picked up by one of the six teams: Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates, and Sharjah Warriors.

But Ashwin wants more. The 38-year-old wants to play the dual role of a player and coach. He shared how he’d discussed the same with the Rajasthan Royals during his time with them. That deal couldn’t come through. But it might happen now.

Ashwin’s captaincy comeback

Well, the off-spinner wants even more than that, it seems. According to Ashwin’s good friend Prasanna Agoram, he might also captain a team soon. “If all goes well, Ashwin might captain a team in a global T20 league very soon,” Prasanna wrote on X.

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One can’t forget that Ashwin was the Punjab Kings (Kings XI Punjab then) captain for the IPL 2018 and 2019 seasons. His captaincy stint wasn’t great. He won just 12 out of 28 matches as Punjab finished second last in 2018 and third last in 2019. But apart from this, Ashwin didn’t lead at the highest level. But opening up the franchise avenue means he could tick that box.

Prasanna, who’s Ashwin’s podcast partner, is a known figure in franchise circuits. He works as a data analyst, coach, performance analyst, video analyst, and statistician. SA20, Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League, and Caribbean Premier League – he’s worked in them all and was also associated with the South Africa men’s team for 11 years.

Ashwin to join Dubai Capitals?

For all we know, Prasanna could be talking about another league instead of ILT20. But if it indeed is the UAE league, Ashwin could join the Dubai Capitals. The spinner had spent two seasons, 2020 and 2021, with the Delhi Capitals in the IPL. The owners of both the franchises are the same, and it won’t be a shock if he captains them and maybe acts as their coach.

Players like Andre Russell and Sunil Narine have this kind of relationship with a team, where they play for Knight Riders Sports worldwide. Maybe Ashwin could go down the same route. I guess time will tell.

The post After Punjab Kings, Ashwin could make a captaincy comeback in a franchise league appeared first on Inside Sport India.