R Ashwin sits at Dindigul Dragons table for TNPL 2025 auction [In Pictures]

Defending champions Dindigul Dragons captain Ravichandran Ashwin attended the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2025 auction at KMK Lobby at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, February 15. In one of the pictures, the star all-rounder was seen engaged in a chat with the team management at the auction table.

Sharing the pictures on Instagram, Dindigul Dragons captioned the post:

“Mission in progress! The auction table is buzzing as we bring new talents into the Dragons family!”

Take a look:

Ashwin guided the franchise to their maiden TNPL title last season. Dindigul beat Lyca Kovai Kings by six wickets in the final.

Ashwin was the costliest retention for Dindigul ahead of the TNPL 2025 auction. The 38-year-old was retained for ₹16 lakh. The other retentions were Varun Chakravarthy (₹12 lakh), Sandeep Warrier (₹8 lakh), Baba Indrajith (₹6 lakh), and Shivam Singh (₹2.4 lakh). They entered the auction with the second-highest purse of ₹35.6 lakh, only behind Chepauk Super Gillies (₹49.2 lakh).

Dindigul Dragons' buys so far: Periyar Swamy G (₹9.80 lakh), Maan K Bafna (₹5.70 lakh), Vimal Khumar R (₹3.80 lakh), Jayant R K (₹1.15 lakh), Chandrasekhar D T (₹0.85 lakh), and Rajwinder Singh (₹0.50 lakh)

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Ravichandran Ashwin led from the front for Dindigul Dragoons in TNPL 2024

Ravichandran Ashwin led from the front for the Dindigul Dragons in the last TNPL season. The former India player finished in the top five leading run-getters, amassing 252 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 151.80, including three half-centuries. The off-spinner also bagged nine wickets in 10 games at an economy rate of 6.92.

Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket after the third Test in Brisbane during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). He, however, will continue to play league cricket.

The Chennai-born all-rounder will reunite with the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The franchise splurged 9.75 crore to buy Ashwin after a bidding war with the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Ashwin is the third-highest wicket-taker among spinners in the IPL. With 180 scalps, he is only behind Yuzvendra Chahal (205), Piyush Chawla (192) and joint-equal with Sunil Narine. He is also a handy batter in the lower order.