With the Indian Premier League (IPL) players’ draft scheduled for December 15, India’s star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday said he is looking forward to a new challenge in the cash-rich league, adding that it doesn’t matter to him which franchise picks him. Sanjeev Goenka’s ‘New Rising’ won the bid for the Pune franchisee while Intex won for Rajkot after a reverse bidding process held in New Delhi on December 8.
Goenka’s company will shell out Rs.16 crores while Intex will pay Rs.10 crores to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “In three days time, Pune or Rajkot will be my new summer destination. Looking forward to a new beginning and more challenges,” Ashwin tweeted.
“If I don’t make it to both of these teams, I will go into the auction. Does not matter who picks me, all I need is new challenges. No stagnating,” the Chennai-born spinner said. Till the 2015 IPL season, Ashwin represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and played under the leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
IPL franchises CSK and Rajasthan Royals (RR) were suspended in July this year from the league for two years by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee in the spot fixing and betting scandal that rocked the Twenty20 tournament in 2013. These two new teams were introduced for two years.
Pune will be given the choice to pick the players first because they were the lowest bidders (negative bids) to buy the new team for two years. CSK and RR will be allowed back in the league after serving their suspension. The ninth edition of the IPL is scheduled from April 9 to May 29 next year.
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