Ravichandran Ashwin, the star India off-spinner, achieved a massive milestone of completing 500 Test wickets during recently-concluded five-match Test series against England. He also entered an elite club when he played his 100th Test match for India. The international calendar might have paused for a while, at least for the Indian cricket stars, as the entire nation awaits the start of the seventeenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but Ashwin was honoured by his franchise in recognition of his achievements for India.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson presented Aswhin with a special '500' jersey to recognise his incredible feat for Team India. The video of the same was shared by the franchise on their official social media handle.
RR To Play Their Season Opener On March 24
RR will begin their IPL 2024 season on March 24 (Sunday). They will take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in a home fixture at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in what will be an afternoon clash set to commence on 03:30 pm (IST). They will then host Delhi Capitals on March 28 before travelling to Mumbai for a clash against MI on April 1.
Ashwin is expected to play a key role for RR this season as an Indian off-spinner who can be a handy with the bat. He along with Yuzvendra Chahal will form a formidable spin-bowling duo, covering finger spin and wrist spin as well as off-spin and leg-spin bases between themselves. In IPL 2023 too, both Ashwin and Chahal emerged as the team's top wicket-takers. While Chahal scalped 21 wickets from 14 innings, Ashwin had 14 wickets from 13 matches. In addition, Ashwin also had a highest score of 30 and was promoted up the order on a few occasions as a possible ploy to disturb the opposition's plans. He accumulated runs at a strike rate of 131.37 last season.