Former Indian star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been ruled out of the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) season with Sydney Thunder after facing a setback that requires knee surgery. The veteran cricketer expressed disappointment over missing what would have been a landmark debut — becoming the first capped Indian player to feature in the BBL.
Ashwin’s Injury Halts BBL Plans
Ashwin stepped away from the Indian Premier League earlier in 2025, opening doors to explore franchise leagues overseas. The Sydney Thunder deal was the only confirmed arrangement after he went unsold in the ILT20 auction. He had committed to playing the entire BBL 2025–26 season before the injury forced a change of plans.
“𝑰’𝒎 𝒈𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝑩𝑩𝑳|15. 𝑴𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓,” 𝑨𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
Sydney Thunder Hopeful of Future Association
The Sydney Thunder have confirmed that they are coordinating closely with the off-spinner and will reassess his availability after successful surgery and rehabilitation.
Thunder General Manager Trent Copeland shared his disappointment while expressing optimism about Ashwin’s long-term involvement with the club.
“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒚𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒔𝒉’𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚. 𝑾𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏,” 𝑪𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.
He affirmed the team’s confidence heading into the new campaign, emphasizing their ambitions across both the WBBL and BBL competitions.
Ashwin remains one of India’s most decorated cricketers, boasting over 700 international wickets from more than 450 appearances. While this injury forces a delay in his Australian league debut, both he and the Thunder continue to look forward to future opportunities together.
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