Former CSK star Ravichandran Ashwin was largely teased by Virender Sehwag on his debut in the Hindi commentary box ahead of the start of the IPL 2026 season.
The IPL 2026 commentary panel has been announced, and a unique panel of players has been announced to commentate on the Champions League on the JioHotstar platform. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin is debuting as a commentator in IPL.
Many other well-known stars of IPL will also be included in this show of JioHotstar. Aakash Chopra was seen with the duo of Virender Sehwag and Ravichandran Ashwin, and the former welcomed a junior while the latter welcomed Ashwin as a senior.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s prediction for IPL opener went wrong
Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is often known for his amazing ability to make amazing predictions. His bold predictions have often been seen as bold declarations on a grand scale.
Before the start of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin made a wild prediction that Sunrisers Hyderabad could manage to dominate the former IPL champions, Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, Ashwin’s predictions went largely wrong as RCB managed to win the opening game of IPL 2026.
Virat Kohli remained unbeaten as RCB chased the total of 200 after winning the match by 6 wickets in the first game. Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar also gave stellar performances; However, Jacob Duffy was named player of the match for his impressive performance in his first game.
An epic conversation between the two Indian legends came to light, with the former Punjab Kings batsman bringing the former PBKS skipper into the limelight. The conversation started when Aakash Chopra asked who was under more pressure, leading to laughter in the commentary box.
“So brother, I feel that today the pressure is all on Ashwin. This is the new hen.I think the entire pressure is on Ashwin today; He is a newcomer),” said Virender Sehwag.
Ashwin also agreed to this fact, saying, “Maine bada aanth bhi laga hai aaj SRH ka…SRH dhoom machayenge. (I have made a big prediction for SRH today…they will do wonders).”
The former Indian opener further agreed, saying, “Woh to tu waise bhi karta hai dressing room mein baith ke. (You do this sitting in the dressing room anyway).”
Sehwag reveals former dressing room gossip with Ashwin during his time at Punjab Kings
Virender Sehwag mentioned an old incident where Ravichandran Ashwin was the captain of Punjab Kings. He revealed that when Sehwag was the Punjab Kings unit coach and Ashwin was the captain, the spinner once sought his opinion on bringing the off-spinner into the attack.
“I remember when Ashwin was the captain, he was sitting with me in the dressing room. He said, ‘Paji, an off-spinner has come, what should I do?’ I told him, ‘You just go and swing the first ball,’ Sehwag revealed.
He then further said that soon after, someone was given out and Ashwin went down and was out on the very first ball.
Sehwag recalled, “Three or four overs passed and no one was out, so we kept talking. Finally, someone was out and Ashwin came in. He tried to make space to hit the first ball, but was out. He came back, sat and said, ‘No, it’s not that easy.’ I replied, ‘Yes, it’s not that easy.'”
They then laughed jointly and recalled how he was dismissed by former Rajasthan Royals spinner Krishnappa Gowtham.
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