Ravichandran Ashwin was floored by the "fight" shown by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) during the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to rope him back in their squad ahead of the upcoming IPL season. CSK fought a bidding war with as many as three franchises to get Ashwin back on board for Rs 9.75 crore.
Chennai Super Kings had to fight an intense bidding war with Rajasthan Royals to get R Ashwin back to their dugout. When Ashwin's name appeared in the auction, CSK were the first franchise to bid for him at his base price (Rs 2 crore). Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) showed interest in Ashwin and made four bids for the off-spinner but couldn't match CSK's determination and had to pull out after Rs 3.40 crore.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) jumped in as soon as LSG left and made two bids before Rajasthan Royals joined the bidding war out of nowhere. Rajasthan started the bid at Rs 4.60 crore and kept matching CSK bid after bid before the five-time IPL champions made the winning bid at Rs 9.75 crore.
In a video shared by Chennai Super Kings across several social media platforms, Ashwin expressed his emotions on the prospect of reuniting with his first-ever IPL franchise and playing alongside MS Dhoni and under the leadership of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
"They say life is a circle. From 2008 till 2015, I wore the yellow jersey and played for CSK and I am always indebted to them," Ashwin said. "Whatever I learnt at CSK has hugely helped me in my international cricket journey as well till today. It's been 10 years, since I last played for CSK, 2015 was my last season with CSK. I don't know how to express it. I was picked by CSK again in this auction. Words like homecoming, price and all are there but something that is very nostalgic for me is the fact that CSK fought for me in the same way that they fought for me way back in the 2011 IPL auction."
"It was a trip down memory lane for me. It's a very special feeling. I have seen a lot about "Anbuden" fans on social media for the last 10 years. When I used to play for Rajasthan, I used to feel bad that I was playing against the CSK fans They won't shout whether I am bowling or batting. Now once again, to play in front of the same fans, to play in front of that ever-growing fandom. I am so looking forward to it. I am so glad to be back to play alongside MS Dhoni and of course to play under Ruturaj Gaikwad."
