A knee surgery has forced R Ashwin to cancel his BBL debut with Sydney Thunder . He said he was "gutted" to miss the opportunity, which would have made him the first capped India player to play in the BBL, while Thunder said they were "working closely with him on a revised schedule of activity".

Ashwin's retirement from the IPL earlier this year made it possible for him to play in overseas leagues, but the deal with Thunder, who he had committed the entire BBL season to once he went unsold in the ILT20 auction, was the only one that had been confirmed.

"I'm gutted to miss BBL|15," Ashwin was quoted as saying in a Thunder statement. "My focus now is recovery and coming back stronger. I'm grateful to the Thunder family and the fans for the warmth they've already shown me. Trent [Cope

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