Why Ravichandran Ashwin Did Not Play in San Francisco Unicorns vs Los Angeles Knight Riders Match?

Former India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin's debut in Major League Cricket (MLC) was highly anticipated ever since he got picked by San Francisco Unicorns. However, Ashwin didn't play Unicorns' first match against Los Angeles Knight Riders, held at Dallas.

Earlier, LAKR captain Jason Holder won the toss and elected to field first. However, the eyes of Indian fans were on San Francisco Unicorns captain Matthew Short as they were looking for Ravichandran Ashwin MLC debut. Unfortunately, he didn't find a place in the playing 11.

Why Ravichandran Ashwin Did Not Play Today?

Ravichandran Ashwin did not play San Francisco Unicorns' first MLC 2026 match as he has still not recovered from his injury that he sustained ahead of the Big Bash League last season.

The off-spinner is still working his way back to full fitness and is likely to play once he is completely available. Ashwin has not played a professional match since July 2025, when he led Dindigul Dragons to the TNPL title.

Ashwin retired from international cricket in December 2024 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He retired as one of the best Test bowlers of all time and finished as India's second-highest wicket-taker in the format.

When R Ashwin was picked for MLC, there were plenty of speculations about him sharing the same dressing room with the Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf. However, Rauf didn't have a great match as he returned figures of 0-38 in 2.4 overs.

Disappointing Start For San Francisco Unicorns

The San Francisco Unicorns vs Los Angeles Knight Riders match at Dallas was a close match. Unicorns scored 150-7 in 14 overs in a rain-affected game. South African youngster Lhuan-dre Pretorious struck a brilliant half-century and top-scored for his team.

In reply, LAKR got off to an excellent start courtesy Colin Munro and Andre Fletcher, two of the best T20 batsmen. Munro scored 64 off 40 balls and remained unbeaten till the end in the LAKR vs SFU match.

LAKR captain Jason Holder played a fiery knock of 28 off 12 balls at No. 4 to help his team cruise to a comfortable win. LAKR chased down the total with 2 balls to spare and started their campaign on a positive note.