"Looking forward to sharing the dressing room with Jos" - Ravichandran Ashwin on joining the Rajasthan Royals

Experienced Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said he could not wait to join the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022. The veteran spinner was the Royals' first pick on day one of the IPL 2022 mega auction, snapping him for five crores.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who started his IPL career in 2009 with the Chennai Super Kings, desired to return to the franchise this year. However, the yellow army hardly showed any interest. Instead, the Royals will avail of his services in the 15th season.

In a video uploaded by Rajasthan Royals' Instagram handle, he acknowledged thanked the franchise and remembered their pursuit in 2018. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer remains keen to link up with Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Yuzvendra Chahal. He stated:

"Hello everyone. Earlier in the day, I got picked by Rajasthan Royals. I'm extremely delighted that they picked me. They tried hard to get me the last auction in 2018, but it's come through finally. I've got a great rapport with all of them in that dugout. Share a wonderful rapport with Sanju as well. So, looking forward to giving my complete best for the franchise and hopefully, do some special things over the course of the next three years. Looking forward to bowling alongside Yuzi. It's going to be a lot of fun and most importantly, looking forward to sharing the dressing room with Jos, how good is that going to be? All things done, Halla Bol!"

Ashwin and Chahal will likely form a deadly spin-bowling combination should luck favor them. Other players picked up by the Royals include Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Prasidh Krishna, and Riyan Parag.

Ravichandran Ashwin to play for his fourth IPL franchise:

Meanwhile, the Test-match specialist will turn out for his fourth IPL franchise, playing for the Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and Delhi Capitals previously. He also captained the Punjab-based franchise for two years; however, he didn't impress.

He has so far taken 145 scalps in 167 wickets at 27.80 with a solitary four-wicket haul.