Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson has let out a secret that his greatest regret was not holding on to Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Having played three years with RR (from 2022-2024), the Tamil Nadu spinner was released last season. Ashwin subsequently joined the auction and ended up being purchased by Chennai Super Kings for a whopping Rs 9.75 cr. In one of Ashwin's videos on his YouTube channel, the CSK spinner quizzed Samson about what decision of his would he make a change to if he had the chance to go back in time. Sanju quickly replied that it was 'not retaining Ash bhai.' Although Ashwin was let go by RR, the franchise was in a heated battle with CSK to get the services of the pacer back. Ashwin was enlisted at a basr price of Rs 2 crore. CSK was the initial team to raise the paddle for the spinner after which LSG got involved. As the bid stood at Rs 3.40 crore, Sanjeev Goenka's team dropped out and RCB got involved. RR came into the bidding contest when the amount stood at Rs 4.60 crore. Here is what Samson said: “I think not retaining Ashwin bhai. We went so far (in the auction) to try and buy you. That’s the truth,” Also Read | Brand Value of Indian Cricketers in 2025 Thereafter, CSK and RR were engaged in a fierce bidding battle, until Sanju Samson's team bid Rs 9.50 crore. CSK got the last laugh as they picked the pacer at Rs 9.75 crore. Samson's revealation is timed when reports have reported that he has requested his release from RR prior to IPL 2026. Reportedly, news also broke out that Ashwin had also made a request for his release from CSK, one year after he had signed up with the franchise. Although CSK are said to be interested in Samson, they do not want to trade any of their players and prefer an all-cash transaction instead.