‘My daughters love pink’: R Ashwin reacts to welcome goodies from Rajasthan Royals

Three days after being picked by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the IPL mega auction on February 12, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin received a box of goodies from his new team. Royals’ CEO Jake McCrum visited Ashwin to personally hand over the box of RR goodies and welcome him to the pink camp. The veteran spinner was pleased with the sweet gesture and revealed that his daughters loved pink colour.

In a video shared by RR’s social media pages, Ashwin says that his daughters, Akhira and Aadhya, loved the pink colour and that way the biggest plus of him playing for RR would be the pink jersey. The veteran spinner can be seen donning the pink RR cap before calling the team’s slogan ‘Halla Bol’ for the camera.

Ashwin who played for the Delhi Capitals (DC) last season was signed by RR for Rs 5 crore on the first day of the IPL mega auction. Playing for the RR, the veteran will be sharing the dressing room with Jos Buttler whom he "mankaded’ in IPL 2019, triggering a debate over the spirit of the game.

Soon after Ashwin was signed by RR, Buttler welcomed the veteran spinner with a cheeky video message. ‘"Hey Ash, Jos here. Don’t worry I am inside the crease, cannot wait to see you in pink for the Royals. Look forward to sharing the dressing room with you," Buttler said in a video posted by the franchise on social media.

Apart from Ashwin, the Rajasthan Royals have also signed Indian leg spinner Yazuvendra Chahal and look strong with a formidable spin attack. Other key picks by the Royals at the auction included pace sensation Prasidh Krishna, Shimron Hetmyer, Trent Boult and Devdutt Padikkal.

The Royals went into the auction with Rs 62 crore in their purse after retaining skipper Sanju Samson for Rs 4 crore, Joss Buttler for Rs 10 crore and young opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal for Rs 10 crore.

Special: Get the Live-Updating IPL 2022 Auction Tally | IPL Mega Auction Live Updates and Cricket Score here