New Delhi: Ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s YouTube channel will not preview or review Chennai Super Kings (CSK) games for the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 following heavy criticism on social media. A few guests on the channel had criticised some of the team’s players, which landed the channel in hot water, and the unwanted step had to be taken.
It was last week when Prasanna Agoram, a former data analyst for South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and a regular on the channel, got embroiled in a controversy after criticising CSK’s decision to pick Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmed despite having Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the squad. He opined that the team might have looked better picking another batter instead of a third spinner.
The video was taken down after being met with sharp criticism on the internet as CSK slumped to their third straight loss, including the first home loss against RCB since 2008 and the first home loss against Delhi Capitals since 2010. CSK are currently placed ninth on the points table with only two points from four games.
“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,” a note from the admin of Ashwin’s channel read.
“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.”
I don’t follow that stuff – Fleming
Although it is highly contrasting that Noor is currently the Purple Cap-holder in the tournament with ten wickets from four bowling innings, while Jadeja and Ashwin have a combined tally of four wickets from eight bowling innings.
After CSK’s failed in the run-chase against DC on Saturday, coach Stephen Fleming was asked if such conversations about the team on a player’s YouTube channel might make things awkward. “I have no idea. I didn’t even know he (Ashwin) had a channel, so I don’t follow that stuff. That’s irrelevant,” Fleming has said.
It is indeed surprising that CSK have already made their way through 17 players, including all seven foreign options which is a drastic change from their usual strategy of maintaining selection continuity. Since the last three CSK games, even MS Dhoni has come under the radar of the critics over his role in the team, his batting approach and his batting position as well.
R Ashwin has been running a YouTube channel for quite some time and only recently it faced heavy criticism following a guest’s opinion on Noor Ahmed’s selection despite Jadeja and Ashwin’s presence in the squad. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
