Posted by R Ashwin has retired from the IPL so that he can play in overseas leagues. It strikes us that the wording of Cheteshwar Pujara’s recent announcement was conspicuously specific too, stating that he was retiring from “all forms of Indian cricket.” What are your plans, lads?
“They say every ending will have a new start,” Ashwin posted on social media. “My time as an IPL cricketer comes to a close today but my time as an explorer of the game around various leagues begins today.”
Ashwin has most recently been turning out for the marvellously named Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, for whom he is Dennis Watermanning as coach, captain, opening batter and number one bowler.
We’re unaware of any formal links between the Dragons and any teams/franchises elsewhere in the world so it perhaps makes more sense to look to his IPL team to see whether there’s anywhere obvious he might be heading next. (The Boland T20 league’s Drakenstein Dragons appear to be unaffilliated with Dindigul – which is a shame, because who wouldn’t want to play for a team that sounds like a chimera of two of horror’s greatest monsters – or even three, if you include the dragon?)
Chennai Super Kings are owned by the same company that owns Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 and Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket, so our guess is that Ashwin will be exploring these super kingdoms.
But Pujara? His T20 credentials are famously weak. He played 30 IPL matches and the last one was in 2014. His career strike-rate in the competition was slower than a run a ball. Does anyone want him?
If there’s one thing you can be sure of, it’s that there’s no shortage of T20 franchise competitions. It is a barrel with no visible bottom to scrape. You can always go deeper. There is, however, a shortage of players. Pujara could, therefore, if he wanted, strap on some scuba gear and plunge down deep for a contract with the Morrisville Raptors or the Golden State Grizzlies in Minor League Cricket, or with the Lumbini Lions or the Karnali Yaks in the Nepal Premier League.
This seems unlikely. He could instead be lining up a full season of county cricket or something, or maybe he has no plans and simply specified “all forms of Indian cricket” to leave the door open for some staggeringly unlikely and currently unimaginable future development.
That would be very uncharacteristic for a man who is beyond meticulous in the way he goes about things. Ashwin (genuinely) once said of Pujara that he would set an alarm for 7.30 to have an apple, and when it went off, he’d have an apple.
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Came for the cricket. Stayed for the apple anecdote.
Indeed, the apple story was worth the price of admission alone.
But this piece does make me wonder whether there is room in a franchise league somewhere for a gentleman of advancing years who is not all that good at cricket but is fun to have around?
Asking for a friend.
I have recently completed (just about) some races in the Yorkshire Veterans Athletics Association ‘Grand Prix’. Perhaps a Cricket Veterans League could be established. Wages might not be quite at IPL levels, would you believe it, YVAA members actually pay to compete. On the other hand, excellent cakes were available afterwards.