In a significant reunion, India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has rejoined the India Cements group, virtually paving the way for his return to the Chennai Super Kings fold ahead of IPL 2025. While Ashwin currently remains a part of the Rajasthan Royals, his return to CSK has been on an administrative level, but the move has already started triggering speculations for a possible return to don the Yellow jersey in the next IPL.

As part of the deal, the 37-year-old Ashwin is all set to take charge of the Chennai Super Kings High Performance Centre, coming up Navalur, in the outskirts of Chennai, and expected to be fully operational ahead of the start of IPL 2025 season.

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“Growing the game and contributing to the cricketing fraternity is my primary focus. I feel elated to be back to where it all began for me,” Ashwin said on his return to India Cements.

CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was also elated to have the iconic player resume his association with the franchise.

“We are excited to have Ashwin back. He will have a huge role to play at Superkings Ventures and our High-Performance Centre. He is one of the best cricketers from Tamil Nadu and is known for his drive towards excellence. His commitment to the game at any level, be it for India, Tamil Nadu, or even the club, is well known. He will be a great person to guide the center and nurture the young talents coming through,” he said.

This is Ashwin’s second stint with India Cements. He first joined the set-up in the early days of his IPL career, but had quit in 2016 to join their rivals Chemplast soon after. Then in 2018, Ashwin switched over to Take Solutions, which owns Dindigul Dragons, the franchise that he represents in the Tamil Nadu Premier League.

With his return to India Cements, Ashwin will be eligible to play for the company’s teams in the first division (2024-25) starting on Thursday.

Ashwin, who is currently on a break, is expected to complete the formalities with India Cements in the coming weeks.

What it means to his IPL career?

As of now, Ashwin is very much a part of the Rajasthan Royals fold, and it’s premature to predict the retention for IPL 2025. It has been learnt that the franchises could be allowed to retain four players from their present set-up before going into the mega auctions. In all likelihood, Ashwin’s reunion with India Cements could mean he would be released and would be up for grabs in the auction.

In case the CSK franchise fails to acquire him at the auction, there’s a possibility that the veteran tweaker could be traded post auction.

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