'Sometimes I wonder if IPL is even cricket' - Ravi Ashwin reflects on Indian Premier League's evolution

Indian Premier League was introduced in 2008. The popularity of the league caught everyone’s attention and it became a global phenomenon. Due to this a lot of leagues in their own respective countries mushroomed. However, the league has reached the pinnacle of its fandom and according to the Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, players are involved more in the off-filed antics rather than on-field when they sign up for the tournament.

Ashwin has been an active part of the IPL for years now. He started his journey with Chennai Super Kings and later went on to represent India in blue colours. The right-arm spinner has just completed his 100^th Test match and joined the 500-wicket club along with Anil Kumble for India. He is known to make bold statements and this particular statement of his stems from the audience’s pulse, who raised concerns about the league over social media.

“No one envisaged the kind of growth that the IPL has had. I still remember a conversation I had with Scott Styris when we were both at CSK. He told me that when he was playing for the Deccan Chargers in the initial seasons of IPL, he did not think the IPL would last for more than two-three years. Initially, there was a big influx of money,” Ashwin said on the Club Prairie Fire podcast hosted by Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist.

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“As a youngster coming into the IPL, I was only looking to learn from the big stars, I did not think about how the IPL would look 10 years down the line. I can say that, having been in the IPL for so many seasons, the IPL is huge. Sometimes I wonder if IPL is even cricket, because sport takes a backstage (during IPL). It’s so huge. We do end up practising in advertisement shoots and sets! That’s where the IPL has gotten to,” he added.

Veteran Ashwin gears for another IPL season

Ashwin is now an integral part of Rajasthan Royals who reached the finals of the IPL 2022 only to lose succumb against newcomers Gujarat Titans. He had briefly captained the team when he was part of the Punjab Kings franchise before RR bought him in the auction. His standout performance in IPL came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2011, where he representing CSK claimed Chris Gayle’s wicket bowling the first over of the innings.