Ravichandran Ashwin Becomes First Indian to Join BBL:
Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the first India international to sign with a BBL team, marking a major shift in BCCI’s overseas league policy.He will represent Sydney Thunder in the upcoming BBL 2025–26 season, breaking a long-standing barrier in Indian cricket. Until now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had prohibited active Indian male players from participating in foreign T20 leagues. While Indian women have featured regularly in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), men were strictly limited to domestic and IPL participation. Ashwin’s move became possible after his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year, making him eligible for international T20 franchise contracts.
