“Ek taraf Sachin Tendulkar, doosri taraf Shubman Gill” - R Ashwin makes tongue-in-cheek reference ahead of IPL 2025 [Watch]

Ravichandran Ashwin, known for often making cheeky comments, is under the spotlight again for making a funny reference ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. IPL 2025 will begin on Saturday, March 22.

On his Hindi YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat', Ashwin was discussing the strategies for Gujarat Giants and Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2025 season. In a recent episode, his cheeky remark involving former Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar and current star Shubman Gill is going viral.

Journalist Vimal Kumar, who was also a part of the episode, highlighted Sachin Tendulkar's presence in the Mumbai Indians' setup as a mentor. As he did so, Ashwin, with a grin and wry smile on his face, mentioned Shubman Gill's name.

"Ek taraf Sachin Tendulkar hai aur dusri taraf Shubman Gill hai, GT ka jo captain hai. Theek hai baat karo chalu karo ab (One side there is Sachin Tendulkar and other side there is Shubman Gill who is GT's captain. Okay start talking now)," he cheekily said.

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Ashwin returns to CSK for IPL 2025

Meanwhile, Ashwin, who announced his retirement from international cricket during the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy, has reunited with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The all-rounder was brought by Chennai for ₹9.75 crore at the mega auction ahead of the upcoming season. Notably, he began his IPL career with CSK in 2009 and played for them till 2015. He then represented various franchises like Rising Pune Super Giants, Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals.

Rajasthan released him after the IPL 2024 season, following which, he was acquired by his home franchise CSK. Ashwin has picked 120 wickets for CSK and is their third-highest wicket-taker after Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo.

Overall, he has played 212 IPL matches and has grabbed 180 wickets at an average of 29.82 with an economy rate of 7.12. The all-rounder is among the experienced players in CSK's setup, who will be keen to bounce back after failing to make the playoffs last year.

The five-time champions will begin their IPL 2025 campaign against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, March 23.