A few days ago, former Indian cricketer R Ashwin officially announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL), drawing the curtain on his incredible career in the cash-rich league. The announcement was quite unexpected, especially given recent revelations that Ashwin had been in discussions with Chennai Super Kings about his future. Following his retirement from IPL, Ashwin is considering playing in overseas leagues.

Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth, surprised by Ashwin's decision to step away from the IPL, felt fame & money were not the reason, and Ashwin could have gone on to play for other franchises.

“I am not sure why Ashwin retired. If I were in his place, I would have continued playing IPL for at least another two years. Of course, for Ashwin, money, fame, or name is not an issue. He has all of those in abundance. But, he could have played in the IPL for another two years and then gone on to play in the other leagues,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

“Probably, other Indian cricketers will also follow this approach of playing in other leagues once their time in the IPL is up. However, the recognition and visibility a player gets in the IPL is much higher than from all other leagues. So, one can play other leagues for the sake of it, but what you get in the IPL, other leagues don’t come close to it,” he added.

“Ashwin has been one of the best IPL cricketers India has produced. He gained fame through the IPL. Though he had done well in the domestic competitions and for India in Tests, he was first recognized through the IPL and CSK, especially when he kept dismissing Chris Gayle for fun,” Srikkanth said.

“He was both an attacking and an economical bowler in the IPL. I am only surprised that he is walking away in the middle of a three-year cycle after the Mega auction last year. In a way, it’s a good sign that players retiring from India can become coaches or players in foreign leagues,“ he stated.

Last year in December during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ashwin retired from international cricket.