Ashwin stops panellist from talking about 'leader' MS Dhoni in live broadcast days after CSK YouTube controversy
Ravichandran Ashwin interrupted a panellist when the latter was speaking about MS Dhoni during a live YouTube broadcast.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin interrupted a panellist during a live broadcast on his YouTube channel when he was talking about MS Dhoni. This came days after the former India spinner announced that his YouTube channel would not cover CSK's matches. The 38-year-old vowed not to post videos covering CSK and their matches after a controversy erupted midway during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.
In the latest video uploaded on Ashwin's, the spinner discussed the recent few matches in the 18th edition of the T20 tournament. However, he refrained from discussing CSK's last few matches in the tournament.
At one point in the video, a panellist discussed how good leadership goes a long way, and Ashwin seemed apprehensive when MS Dhoni's name popped up.
"I'm so happy that you won the match. Ashwin, the only thing is that you've led the team a lot. The team that you've led has won the TNPL. What I feel is that leadership is very, very important. That leader is someone like Sanju, someone like Shreyas Iyer, someone like Thala Dhoni," the panellist said.
To this, Ashwin said, "Sshhh. Ssshhhh." The panellist then reminded them that Ashwin could not talk about Dhoni and CSK on his channel, but he could as an audience member.
"No, you shouldn't be the one talking. I can talk. I'm an audience member," he said. To this, the former India spinner replied that he had never spoken about his team, even when he was in Rajasthan Royals, indicating that the recent development is just not a CSK thing.
"I've never spoken about my team in RR as well," said Ashwin.
All you need to know about the CSK and Ashwin YouTube controversy
The entire controversy began with panellists on Ashwin's channel dissecting CSK's fixtures in IPL 2025. During one part in the discussion, former South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) analyst Prasanna Agoram questioned CSK's decision to include Noor Ahmad in the squad despite having Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin in the squad.
CSK's head coach, Stephen Fleming, was then asked about Ashwin's channel discussing the IPL fixtures and whether it has any implications for the dressing room. Fleming replied, "I have no idea. I didn't even know he had a channel, so I don't know that stuff. That's irrelevant."
Just a day after Fleming's response, Ashwin announced that his channel would not cover any CSK matches or content during the 18th edition of the IPL.
"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," Ashwin said in a note.
"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," it added.
Ashwin was recently dropped from CSK's playing XI for the contest against Lucknow Super Giants, which MS Dhoni and co won by five wickets.
