Ravichandran Ashwin to stop covering Chennai Super Kings matches on his YouTube channel

Ravinchandran Ashwin’s, apart from being a largely successful cricketer, hosts a fairly popular YouTube channel, where his shows and analysis before and after some marquee matches are watched and liked by millions for the honest opinions portrayed. However, the channel has recently been surrounded by a controversy since the Chennai Super Kings devotees do not like how things are presented, despite Ashwin being a part of the squad.

One of the regular guests on Ashwin’s show, Prasanna Agoram, criticised some of the players after seeing the five-time IPL champions slump to their third successive loss at home against the Delhi Capitals at the Chepauk. Prasanna had criticised the selection of Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad in the Playing XI, despite the team having the likes of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The statement by the panellist, who has worked as data analyst for South Africa and Royal Challengers Bengaluru previously, invited trouble as fans instantly started calling out the opinions.

Following the criticism, a note publicized by Ashwin’s channel admin, which confirmed that they will refrain from covering CSK games. The channel put out a note saying they are mindful of how things are interpreted and that none of the views expressed are the off-spinner's personal opinion.

“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,” the note 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,” it read further.

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I didn't even know Ashwin has a channel: CSK head coach

The Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming was also asked whether the statements made on Ashwin’s YouTube channel had caused some awkward moments or misunderstanding among the players in the dressing room. To this, the 52-year-old denied knowing anything about the Ashwin's channel, and he does not follow him.

“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 had said during a recent press conference.