Chennai Super Kings’ veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is widely regarded as amongst the sharpest brains in cricket. He has used that brain to build a YouTube channel and his channel has garnered a significant following ever since its launch in April 2020. Through his channel, Ashwin provides insightful commentary and light-hearted analysis on all things cricket, and the Indian Premier League, and even has guests in his videos.
However, a comment from one such guest, a channel regular, has landed the cricketer in a bit of a soup.
In one of Ashwin’s videos on his YouTube channel that was posted last week, Prasanna Agoram, former data analyst at Royal Challengers Bengaluru and South Africa cricket team, criticised CSK’s decision to buy Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad in the auction for IPL 2025 despite having the veteran spin duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the squad.
Agoram’s comment created a storm that has forced Ashwin to no longer preview or review IPL games that involve CSK.
That video was taken down after the social media backlash, which coincided with CSK crashing to their third consecutive loss, a 25-run defeat to Delhi Capitals in Chennai.
Interestingly, despite CSK’s season nosediving after their opening fixture victory against the Mumbai Indians, Noor is one among the lone bright sparks for the team. The Afghanistan wrist spinner is the tournament’s highest wicket taker with 10 scalps to his name and is the current holder of the Purple Cap.
Meanwhile, Ashwin and Jadeja have been below their best and have four wickets combined in the four matches so far.
Admin’s note
In response to the backlash, Ashwin issued a note on his YouTube channel through his admin, which read: “Given the nature of the discussions on this forum over the last week, we want to be mindful of how things can be interpreted and have chosen to step away from covering CSK games, both previews and reviews, for the rest of this season.
“We value the diversity of perspectives that come through on our shows and remain committed to ensuring the conversation stays true to the integrity and purpose of the platform we’ve established. The views expressed by our guests do not reflect Ashwin’s personal opinions.
“We appreciate all those who engage thoughtfully with the spirit of the show. Your feedback continues to help us refine and improve what we’ve built over the years. The Small Council will continue with all non-CSK games as usual.
“Looking forward to witnessing the rest of this exciting IPL season with all of you.”
CSK are currently ninth in the table with 2 points from 4 matches. They face Punjab Kings next on Tuesday, April 8.
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