Ravichandran Ashwin joins Dublin Guardians as captain and mentor for inaugural ETPL season

Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has signed on as captain and mentor of the Dublin Guardians for the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), Cricinfo confirmed on Wednesday, July 1. The move reunites the 39-year-old with former India captain Rahul Dravid, who owns the six-team league's Dublin franchise.

Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024 with 537 Test wickets from 106 matches, India's second-highest tally behind Anil Kumble, and finished his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings after announcing his retirement from the league in August 2025. He is currently representing the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket 2026 in the USA, and had also been signed for the Big Bash League last year but missed out through a knee injury, making the ETPL his latest venture into global franchise cricket since stepping away from India duty.

The ETPL is Europe's first ICC-sanctioned multi-country franchise T20 league, run in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association. Its six franchises are based in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with the Belfast Wolves co-owned by Australia's Glenn Maxwell, and the league running from Wednesday, August 26 to Sunday, September 20.

Who else has signed up for the ETPL?

South Africa's Faf du Plessis will captain and co-own the Rotterdam Dockers, lining up alongside fellow South Africans Heinrich Klaasen, Donovan Ferreira and Anrich Nortje, with Australia's Mitchell Owen also part of the squad. Mitchell Marsh leads the Amsterdam Flames alongside Steven Smith and Michael Bracewell, with Netherlands pair Scott Edwards and Bas de Leede turning out as local players. New Zealand's Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult reunite at Edinburgh Castle Rockers, with Santner set to captain the side, while Glasgow Cosmic's roster features Finn Allen, coached by former Australia batter Matthew Hayden.

The six franchises will fill out the remaining spots on their rosters at the ETPL player draft on Thursday, July 2, ahead of the league's curtain-raiser in Dublin on August 26.