Ravichandran Ashwin Gets In A Fight With Virender Sehwag On 1st Day Of IPL Commentary

Virender Sehwag and Ravichandran Ashwin [Source: AFP]

The IPL 2026 officially kicked off on March 28 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with a riveting battle between RCB and SRH. However, ahead of the battle on the field, former cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin and Virender Sehwag were seen engaged in a verbal battle off the field.

The IPL 2026 season, the 2.5-month-long phenomenon, decided to rope in new commentary panels to add to the tally of 12 languages and over 100 voices.

Ravichandran Ashwin too became a part of the panel for this season and was welcomed for his debut ahead of the match on a JioStar pre-match chat show, where the spat with Virender Sehwag took place.

When And Why Did The Sehwag vs Ashwin Feud Take Place?

Just ahead of the toss of the RCB vs SRH match at 7:00 PM IST on March 28, in a pre-match analytical show by JioStar, Ashwin and Sehwag tussled with each other on Live TV.

In a commentary panel named “Champions wali commentary”, Ashwin was welcomed by the show host and Sehwag, as the former debuted as a Hindi commentator for the first time after hanging up his boots from IPL in August 2025.

Also Read- Virender Sehwag Announces A Web Series On Him Inspired By Sahibzada Farhan

What Happened Between Virender Sehwag and Ravichandran Ashwin?

As Ashwin came on board, Sehwag was warm and approachable to his successor in cricket and welcomed him with a hearty message.

"Aaj yaha par dil ki baat kiya jayega, na ki soch samajh kar baat kiya jayega. (Today, we will speak from the heart, not with logic or careful thinking," Sehwag said.

Ashwin, though, ever sarcastic with his online comments and analysis on YouTube, replied with a witty dig that was indirectly hurled at Sehwag.

"Mere parents ne abhi tak jo sikhaya tha, aap uska ulta bata rahe hai. Mere parents ne bataya hai soch samajh kar bolna chahiye, bina soche kuchh nahi bolna chahiye. (My parents have always taught me to think before I speak and never say anything without thinking first. But you're telling me to do the complete opposite,” Ravichandran Ashwin replied.

Sehwag responds to Ashwin's indirect dig

Virender Sehwag, shocked at first, regained his composure to reply to the cricketer with a subtle tone while indicating ‘other’ commentators in IPL and indirectly sledging Ashwin too.

“Hota hai kuch log soch samajh kar bolte hai ki is player ke jyada fan hai… agar galat bol diya to followers ghat jayenge, achchha bol diya to badh jayenge. (Some people deliberately think before speaking. They say, ‘This player has more fans…’ If I speak negatively about him, my followers will decrease. If I speak positively, my followers will increase)" Sehwag replied.

Ravichandran Ashwin laughed at Sehwag’s IPL dig as the latter mentioned, “Maine kab bola ki dusron ko hurt karna hai? Bas maryada rakhke unbiased opinion de (When did I say that we need to hurt others? Just maintain decorum and give an unbiased opinion.)” Virender Sehwag concluded.

The verbal spat didn’t continue for long, though since the analytical session for players took over, and the duo later joined each other on the couch for the “Champions wali commentary” session during the live match.

The Tension Between Sehwag and Ashwin

Although not directly, this admission in the chat show sparked a small tension that the duo have shared over the years. In a chat show, Ashwin earlier revealed that during a T20 net session, Sehwag would smash him for sixes even on good balls, acknowledging his dominating and demoralising effect.

Sehwag himself too has slammed Ashwin on several analytical and chat shows for his poor performance in IPL 2024, where he took only two wickets from eight matches.

Virender Sehwag's “scientist” comment for Ravichandran Ashwin back in 2022 was also in a sarcastic and condescending manner, as Ashwin, known for his analytical mind, was questioned for his overcomplication of the game.

Also Read- Phil Salt Shames Dinesh Karthik Online, Tim David Joins Despite RCB's Win