Ashwin Ruled Out Of BBL After Knee Surgery

Ravichandran Ashwin, 39, has been ruled out of the 2025–26 Big Bash League after sustaining a knee injury in a Chennai training session that required surgery and ended his planned debut season with the Sydney Thunder. Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024 and left the IPL earlier in 2025, which would have made him the first India-capped player to feature in the BBL. He said he was “gutted”, will focus on rehabilitation, has no fixed recovery timeline and might rejoin the Thunder later in the season in a non-playing capacity or to meet fans if cleared by doctors. Sydney Thunder general manager Trent Copeland expressed disappointment, praised Ashwin’s commitment and said the franchise hopes to involve him in the dugout and fan events while supporting his recovery. The injury also rules Ashwin out of the Hong Kong Sixes. The BBL season runs from mid-December to late January.