Putting an end to ongoing speculations, Kings XI Punjab have traded ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin with Delhi Capitals for Karnataka Spinner Jagadeesha Suchith. Delhi Capitals will also pay INR 1.5 Crores to Kings XI Punjab.  The ice on this development was officially broken by Ness Wadia, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab on Thursday. On Friday, the official IPL website shared a press release confirming the move.

“It was a pleasure working with Ashwin. We enjoyed our time with him and I wish him all the best. All the parties are happy. We wanted to get a spinner on board and we are happy to have Suchith with us”, Wadia told media in a casual interaction on Thursday.

A left arm spinner and a decent batsman for Karnataka, Suchith has been a regular in Karnataka state side across formats. The 25 year old was picked up by Delhi Capitals last year. He has featured in 44 T20s till date.

With this development, Kings XI Punjab will have to look for another captain. They have recently appointed Anil Kumble as the head coach and there were some decisions expected to make the strategy more aggressive for Kings XI, who finished 6th in last years IPL, despite starting on a positive note. At the beginning of IPL 2019 season, IPL match betting rates were considerably high for all the fixtures, where R Ashwin's team was involved.

Delhi, on the other hand, will gain a lot from the experience that Ashwin brings. With a solid batting line up at the top including Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer & Rishabh Pant, Delhi Capitals needed someone to take responsibility in the bowling department and it seems like Ashwin will come in handy, not only to perform in his personal capacity, but to guide other bowlers as well.

IPL 2020 auctions are slated to take place on 19 December at Kolkata.