Spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin revealed he had invited MS Dhoni for his 100th Test, against England in Dharamsala last year, and had even planned to make it his farewell Test. Ashwin, however, revealed ‘Captain Cool’ had the perfect gift in store for him later that year after failing to show up at the picturesque venue in Himachal Pradesh.
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Ravichandran Ashwin had taken the cricketing world, especially the Indian fans, by surprise after abruptly
announcing his retirement in December midway during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The legendary off-spinner, however, recently admitted that he wanted to call it quits earlier that year, after his 100th Test appearance to be precise.
Ashwin also revealed that he wanted legendary wicketkeeper-batter MS Dhoni to be present for the special occasion, which occurred during the fifth Test against England in Dharamsala in March last year. Dhoni, however, could not make it to the picturesque venue situated on the foothills of the Dhauladhar Range in Himachal Pradesh.
BCCI had organised a special ceremony for Ashwin and presented him a memento, which the spin-bowling all-rounder admitted would have been even more special if he had received it from his former India and Chennai Super Kings captain.
Ashwin thanks Dhoni for reuniting him with CSK after a decade
Ashwin, however, added that though he did not turn up for his 100th Test in Dharamsala, Dhoni had an even better gift in store for him later that year.
“I called MS Dhoni for my 100th Test in Dharamshala to hand over the memento. I wanted to make that my last Test. But he couldn’t make it. However, I didn’t think he would give me the gift of getting me back to CSK. It’s a much better one. So, thank you, MS, for doing it. I’m glad to be here,” Ashwin during a book launch in Chennai on Sunday.
“I called Dhoni for my 100th Test. I invited him to hand over memento in Dharamshala. I wanted to make that my last Test, but he couldn’t make it. What I didn’t expect was that he would give me an even better gift — bringing me back to CSK.” – Ash anna 💛 pic.twitter.com/25f8q7mkMY
— 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑳𝑨 (@Vidyadhar_R) March 16, 2025
Ashwin will be reuniting with the CSK later this month when the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) gets underway, having been
bought by the five-time champions for Rs 9.75 crore.
The 38-year-old had started his IPL journey with the ‘Yellow Army’ in the inaugural IPL season in 2008 and would be part of the setup until the franchise received a two-year suspension in 2015 for corruption. Ashwin would then represent Rising Pune Supergiant for a couple of years, playing under Dhoni’s leadership in 2016.
Later in his career, he would captain Punjab Kings (2018-2019) before representing Delhi Capitals (2020-2021) and Rajasthan Royals (2022-2024).
Ashwin added that he returns to CSK as someone who has “gone through the full circle”, and just wants to enjoy his game now.
“Most importantly, I have come back to CSK not as someone who has achieved so much but as someone who has gone through the full circle and wants to come back here and enjoy just like before. It is a wonderful place to be,” Ashwin added at the event.