RCB star announces retirement hours before IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 again…

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) spinner Murugan Ashwin announces his retirement ahead of the RCB vs Gujarat Titans IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 match. Ashwin announced his retirement through a heart-touching note on Instagram. He has taken his retirement from the Indian Premier League and domestic cricket, but will continue playing for various other T20 leagues. librea.one

Murugan Ashwin played for five different teams throughout his IPL career after making his debut for the Rising Pune Super Giants (now defunct) in IPL 2026. After a successful stint with RPS, the spinner joined RCB ahead of the 2018 season. In his IPL career, Ashwin played for Rising Pune Supergiant, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Rajasthan Royals, respectively.

Murugan Ashwin has decent IPL stats

In his emotional social media post, the spinner paid gratitude to all five franchises for showing faith in him. He played 44 IPL matches and picked up 35 wickets at an average of 33.20. His economy rate is 8.01 runs per over.

During his stint with RCB, the Tamil Nadu-born picked up three wickets in two matches for an economy rate of 7.57. His best season was with the Kings XI Punjab during the 2020-21 season, when he plucked 10 in 9 games for an economy rate of 7.46. Ashwin made his last IPL appearance on May 7, 2023, for the Rajasthan Royals, against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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Murugan Ashwin’s bowling stats for RCB:

The spinner shares a heartfelt message

“Since I started playing cricket at the age of six, I have been deeply in love with the game, and it has blessed me abundantly. Cricket has shaped me into the person I am today and allowed me to truly express myself on the field. It’s been an incredible ride so far, and on that note, I would like to share an update with you all,” Ashwin wrote in an Instagram post.

“I would like to announce that I have decided to call time on my domestic cricket career and my journey in the IPL. I will, however, be exploring new challenges and opportunities, and I look forward to continuing to play the game as competitively as always,” he added.

He paid his respect to some of the legends of the game, like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin. During his IPL tenure, Murugan Ashwin got the opportunity to play with the top-tier talents of the game.

“My decade-long experience in the IPL allowed me to rub shoulders with some of the greats of the game and play under the leadership of legendary cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Rohit Sharma. These experiences have helped me work on myself and become a better cricketer since my debut in 2016,” he mentioned.

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A post shared by Ashwin Murugan (@ashwinmurugan)

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Sunday’s match at the Eden Gardens was some 20 minutes old, and into the fourth over of the Delhi Capitals innings, when Rajasthan Royals sealed the last Playoffs slot of IPL-19 at the faraway Wankhede. RR’s win over Mumbai Indians doused the dying embers of Kolkata Knight Riders’s hopes, but their men who mattered came to know much later.

“We got to know when we finished our fielding, after those 20 overs. Before that, no instructions, nothing, that’s what we had decided before stepping onto the field. Our focus was to win this game, rather than think about what’s happening [elsewhere],” revealed KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane.

DC went on to set a target of 204 before bowling out KKR for 163 in the 19th over, Rahane signing off with a 39-ball 63 that included four boundaries and four sixes.

KKR were cruising before Kuldeep Yadav triggered a collapse in the 14th over. Kuldeep, adjudged Player of the Match, finished with 3-29 and could have had a hat-trick had wicketkeeper Abishek Porel not dropped Tejasvi Dahiya. “It happens,” said the spinner at the post-match chat, adding that he went home after the last match to iron out “some small things” with his coach.

It was time too for some looking back. “We’re really proud of the way we came back, showing character,” Rahane reflected. “I thought we were playing really good cricket [even when we were not winning], but kept losing [key] moments. It was really tough. We decided we will stay together, back each other,” revealed the skipper.

Sri Lanka National Cricket Team pacer Matheesha Pathirana has suffered another major setback, and this time, the blow has extended beyond the IPL 2026.

The Sri Lankan speedster has officially been ruled out of the upcoming West Indies tour after suffering a hamstring injury during his debut appearance for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026.

Matheesha Pathirana got injured in his KKR debut

Matheesha Pathirana’s much-awaited debut for Kolkata Knight Riders turned into a nightmare at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata against the Gujarat Titans.

The Sri Lankan pacer, who was bought for a massive INR 18 crore in the IPL 2026 auction after being released by Chennai Super Kings, lasted just eight deliveries before walking off the field injured.

Pathirana had already missed the initial phase of IPL 2026 due to fitness concerns and rehabilitation work. Apart from his recovery process, Kolkata Knight Riders also had to wait for Sri Lanka Cricket to issue his No Objection Certificate before he could finally join the squad.

With expectations sky-high around his arrival, fans were excited to finally see the slingy pacer in KKR colours. However, things didn't pan out the way everyone would have wanted.

Pathirana started the innings and bowled the fourth over of the powerplay. After bowling just 1.2 overs, he suddenly looked uncomfortable and was immediately attended to by the physio. The right-arm quick was seen clutching the back of his leg before eventually walking off the field midway through the over.

It was later confirmed that the Sri Lankan pacer had suffered a hamstring injury during the game, ruling him out of further participation, and KKR picked Luvnith Sisodia as his replacement.

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Matheesha Pathirana ruled out of the West Indies tour

Sri Lanka Cricket also confirmed that Matheesha Pathirana would not travel with the squad for the upcoming West Indies tour.

The latest update has left Sri Lanka with a slightly reshuffled fast-bowling attack for the tour. The selectors have included Nuwan Thushara in the T20I squad. Alongside Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, and Eshan Malinga, Sri Lanka still possess several bowlers capable of consistently bowling at express pace.

Other seamers included in Sri Lanka’s white-ball squads are Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Pramod Madushan, and Binura Fernando.

How many matches would Matheesha Pathirana miss on the West Indies tour?

Matheesha Pathirana is set to miss the entire Sri Lanka tour of the West Indies 2026, which includes white-ball cricket as well as the Test series.

Sri Lanka’s tour will begin with the ODI series in Jamaica. The first ODI is scheduled to be played on June 3 at Sabina Park in Kingston, followed by the second ODI on June 6 and the third ODI on June 8 at the same venue.

After the ODI leg, both teams will move into the T20I series. The first T20I will be played on June 11 in Kingston, while the second and third T20Is are scheduled for June 13 and June 14, respectively.

Sri Lanka will then play a four-day warm-up game against a West Indies Select XI in Antigua from June 18 before the start of the Test series.

The first Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka will begin on June 25 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. The second and final Test of the series is scheduled to start on July 3 at the same venue.