Things are about to go from bad to worse for Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. After being overlooked for the ongoing West Indies tour, reports have come across that his Indian T20 League franchise, team Punjab, is on a lookout for a new captain. In fact, there are claims that the offspinner may even not be retained for the 2020 edition of the tournament.
As per the Mirror, a decision regarding the aforementioned will be taken once the team officials meet, which is expected to happen by the end of this week. Furthermore, rumours have it that the Mohali-based team is actually looking for a trading option with a couple of others, which includes the likes of team Delhi and team Rajasthan.
Having been picked for a whooping INR 7.8 crore by Punjab during the auctions before the 2018 edition, it is highly unlikely that he will take any financial cut if the trade indeed takes place. As far as his captaincy is concerned, a move is expected to snatch his status of being the team leader, as Delhi qualified for the play-offs last season for the first time in 7 years under their new captain Shreyas Iyer. Rajasthan, on the other hand, have a dilemma of their own between Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith.
So if Ashwin is to depart, it is stated that batsman KL Rahul will be given the reigns of the team. Furthermore, following the departure of former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson, Punjab are in a hunt to get a new head coach, and the likes of George Bailey and Darren Lehmann are being tipped as possible candidates.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Sajjad Hussain
