"My mother came and asked why RR released me" - Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on false rumors of Rajasthan Royals not retaining him
The Rajasthan Royals (RR) have retained senior spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) auction. But prior to the formal announcement, there were rumors that the franchise might release him.
Reacting to those reports, Ashwin recently disclosed that even his mother had started asking him why the team wasn't retaining him. The 36-year-old mentioned that despite having received official confirmation about the retention, he continued to act as if he was going to be released.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said:
"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."
"In fact, even my mother came and asked why RR released me," he added. "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."
Notably, Ashwin was roped in by the Royals at the mega auction earlier this year for ₹5 crore. The crafty spinner bagged 13 wickets from 17 matches in the latest edition of the cash-rich league, at a good economy rate of 7.50.
"I felt sad since I did reasonably well for them last year" - Ravichandran Ashwin on reports of RR releasing him
Ashwin went on to say that he was quite disappointed over the rumors of his release, given that he had a successful campaign with the team in 2022.
He highlighted how there were several reports indicating that the franchise was planning to part ways with him ahead of the mini-auction. The seasoned campaigner further mentioned that many people reached out to him, reacting to all the reports.
"According to Mufaddal Vohra, RR planned to release me," Ashwin said. "Many people asked me if I was going to be released. In fact, many people called and told me they were feeling sorry for me since RR released me."
"Even I felt sad since I did reasonably well for them last year," he added. "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."
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Ashwin is one of 16 players retained by RR. They have, however, released Anunay Singh, Karun Nair, Tejas Baroka, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Daryll Mitchell.