Ravichandran Ashwin has seen the future of cricket economics, and it runs through the Indian Premier League. The legendary off-spinner, who retired from international cricket in 2024 and from the IPL a year later, recently told the BBC's Stumped podcast that Indian players are unlikely to compete in The Hundred or other international franchise leagues any time soon. His reasoning? The IPL's staggering commercial weight has made it essentially untouchable in the global T20 landscape.
The numbers bear out what Ashwin describes. The IPL is standing at the cusp of having a valuation that rivals or exceeds other major leagues worldwide. That economic reality shapes everything, from player contracts to broadcast rights to sponsorship deals. "The economic model means a lot to the game," Ashwin said. "The IPL is able to retain the quality of players, local players especially, and Indian players are heavily marketable in the country."
BCCI rules prevent India's men's players from appearing in competing T20 leagues, a policy that effectively keeps the IPL's talent pipeline domestic. While Ashwin himself has carved out a post-retirement career playing franchise cricket globally—in September 2025 he became the first Indian men's player picked up by Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash League, though a knee injury forced his withdrawal—he sees structural barriers keeping other Indian stars at home. "Enabling them to move on to another league, especially when they're contracted to play for their country, I don't think it's going to happen," he said. "But you will see one-off cricketers here and there who will turn up and play in some of these leagues." Ashwin is currently suiting up for the San Francisco Unicorns in the United States' Major League Cricket.
Yet amid the big-picture economics, Ashwin spotted something that reminded him cricket's magic still lives in individual brilliance. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi—the 15-year-old who made his IPL debut at 14, scoring a 35-ball hundred—continues to shatter records. Last week, he smashed an 11-ball half-century, the fastest in List A 50-over cricket, compiling 94 runs from just 29 balls for India A against Sri Lanka A. He finished this year's IPL as the tournament's leading run-scorer and has been named in India's squads for T20 series against Ireland and England, starting Friday in Belfast.
Ashwin's assessment was simple: "When you watch someone special, you know it straight away." But he urged the young prodigy to hold onto the joy of the game. "He's a 15-year-old kid, who I personally believe should have fun playing the game, just like you would in the gullies from his hometown," Ashwin said. "He's not going to have a lot of long road ahead of him where he's going to play without pressure. It will eventually catch up, because it will turn into being work, but as of now, I would love for him to have fun and entertain all of us."
The IPL's dominance shows no signs of weakening. But wherever the economics lead, the game still belongs to players like Sooryavanshi—and the fans who get to watch them light up the crease.