In a dream deal for the fans, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) splashed INR 9.75 crore to sign veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin during the IPL 2025 mega-auction last November.

Ashwin returned home after a long gap of 9 years as CSK outbid Rajasthan Royals to secure his services. He started off his IPL career at CSK in 2009 and played a key role in the team’s title wins in 2010 and 2011.

The off-spinner was associated with the Chennai-based franchise till 2015 before joining the now-defunct Rising Pune Super Giants, followed by stints with the Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals.

Ahead of his much-awaited reunion with the CSK, Ashwin thanked the legendary MS Dhoni for giving him a special gift.

Ashwin revealed that he wanted to call time on his international career following his landmark 100th Test against England in Dharamsala last year and even wanted Dhoni to present him his special memento for the game. However, the former India captain couldn’t make it.

“I invited MS for my 100th Test to hand over the memento. I wanted to make that my last Test. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come, but I didn’t think you’d hand over the gift of getting me back to CSK. It’s a much better one, so thank you MS,” Ashwin said at a book launch event on Sunday (March 16).

Ashwin, who retired from international cricket in December 2024, wants to “enjoy” playing cricket again while being part of the CSK camp.

“Destinations are not reached just like that; you need to go through milestones. My comeback to CSK is not as the person who’s achieved all those things, but as someone who’s gone through the entire circle and wants to come back and enjoy the same moment, I experienced all those years ago. It’s a wonderful place to be,” he said.

Ashwin also talked about the CSK franchise’s unchanged cricket-oriented nature despite the evolving corporatisation of the IPL.

“One thing that really stands out is that CSK has remained a team that’s evolved, yet at the same time, remained an archive,” Ashwin said.

“Today, in the world of cricket corporatisation, there’s nobody who runs a business to make a loss – I understand that. But things have evolved, and teams have changed so much. Coming here (to CSK) again, I realise it hasn’t changed one bit since I left in 2015. The fact is, it is organically cricket. The best way to run a cricket team and achieve success is to keep it cricket-oriented,” he added.

(With TOI Inputs)