The veteran Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin has thanked the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) franchise for supporting him in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he was the captain of the squad. Ashwin’s time with KXIP came to an end on Friday with the Delhi Capitals (DC) officially announcing a trade deal in which the veteran spinner went to the franchise based in the national capital while left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith went the other way.

As per the quotes on the official website of KXIP, Ashwin said, “It has been a wonderful journey with Kings XI Punjab. I will always look back fondly at the two years I spent with the Kings and will miss all my teammates. I am looking ahead to new challenges. I would also like to thank the fans for their endless support over the two years, it was incredible to see them come out and support their team.”

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Anil Kumble, who was recently named KXIP’s Director of Cricket and head coach, said that “it’s now time to look towards the next step”.

Kumble elaborated, “We thank him for his contribution to the team over the last two years and wish him well in his future endeavors. We will look at strengthening the squad at the auction to ensure that we have a well-balanced team as we enter the new IPL season.”

The off-spinner, who only plays the longest format for India from past couple of years, made a strong comeback in the home Test series against South Africa as he scalped 15 wickets in the series after warming the bench in the West Indies, where Ravindra Jadeja was preferred as the sole spinner in the playing XI.

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KXIP reached the semifinals in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008 before making the finals just once in 2014 when they finished runners-up. Now with the legendary Indian spinner, Anil Kumble on board in the support staff, the franchise is aiming to lift their maiden title in IPL 2020.