'Gutted' Ashwin suffers knee injury, ruled out of BBL

Ravichandran Ashwin's hopes of becoming the first nationally-capped Indian man to play in the Big Bash have been put on hold this season with the star spinner ruled out of KFC BBL|15 after suffering a knee injury.

Sydney Thunder confirmed this evening that Ashwin had undergone surgery having injured his knee while training in Chennai and his recovery timeframe meant he was no longer available for this summer's tournament.

The 39-year-old had committed to the Thunder for their entire BBL|15 campaign and the club remain hopeful of keeping him involved in a non-playing capacity this season.

"Everyone at Sydney Thunder was devastated to learn of Ash's knee injury that has ruled him out of BBL|15, and we wish him well in his recovery," Trent Copeland, Thunder general manager, said in a statement.

"From the moment we first spoke with Ash, his commitment to Thunder was clear.

"We are hopeful of welcoming him into our dugout for part of BBL|15, introducing him to our fans at events and building a long-term relationship.

"While disappointing for the club, we have built two championship-contending squads and expect to continue the progress of recent seasons in WBBL|11 and BBL|15. We can't wait to get back in front of our fans in Western Sydney for two massive campaigns."

Ashwin said he was "gutted" not to be able to feature in BBL|15.

"My focus now is recovery and coming back stronger," he said.

"I'm grateful to the Thunder family and the fans for the warmth they've already shown me. Trent and the entire management made me feel part of the club from our very first conversation.

"I will be watching every game (probably at odd hours in Chennai) and cheering for both our women's and men's teams. If rehab and travel line up, and only if the doctors are happy, I would love to be around later in the season and say hello in person."

Copeland had previously flagged his desire to extend the club's relationship with Ashwin beyond this season with India's second highest Test wicket-taker wanting to become "an explorer of the game around various leagues" after announcing his retirement from Indian cricket.

Ashwin called time on his international career last December during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test tour of Australia before announcing his Indian Premier League retirement in August.

Only retired Indian men's players are permitted by the BCCI to play in overseas T20 leagues and Ashwin was the first senior national representative to sign with a BBL club.

Pending the progress of his recovery, the Thunder is working closely with Ashwin on a revised schedule of off-field activity during BBL|15 to ensure his landmark deal doesn't go to waste.

While a blow to their plans for the upcoming season, the Thunder are well equipped to cover the loss of Ashwin for BBL|15.

They have four other spinners on their roster who were all signed before the Indian great became available in August.

Pakistan leg-spinning allrounder Shadab Khan headlines their overseas acquisitions for BBL|15, which also includes New Zealand quick Lockie Ferguson and English wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings, who both return for a second straight season with the club.

Thunder stalwarts Chris Green and Tanveer Sangha, along with left-arm finger-spinning allrounder Tom Andrews, round out the spin options at David Warner's disposal.

All four are a genuine chance of playing together in Thunder home games at Engie Stadium where spinners were the most economical (6.42 runs per over) of any of the nine BBL venues to host multiple games last season.

"Particularly at our home deck, there's probably a greater opportunity for maximal spin output, albeit the wicket is going to be significantly better this year than it was last year," Copeland said in September.

"People will often gravitate towards, 'Oh, that's four spinners'. But Tom Andrews too, they're in the category of allrounders.

"Whether you're a fast-bowling allrounder or you're a spin bowler, I think the fact that they are genuine batters … (means) there's flexibility and options there."

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