"MS Dhoni was very angry about it” - When Virender Sehwag opened up about Ravichandran Ashwin being scolded by ‘captain cool’ for on-field behavior
Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday, December 18. The legendary off-spinner finished his career as the second-highest wicket-taker for India across formats, including 537 scalps in 106 Tests.
The 38-year-old also enjoyed a good run with the bat, particularly in Tests, amassing over 3,500 runs, including five centuries. His last fifer and last ton came at his home ground in Chennai - MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder recently reunited with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the IPL 2025 auction. He will now look to end his career on a high where he started, i.e., at CSK.
Apart from his contributions to cricket, he is known for his learnings and experiments throughout his career on his journey to become an Indian legend.
With Ashwin set to return to the Super Kings, here's a tale of how a young and aggressive spinner angered captain cool MS Dhoni. The story dates back to IPL 2014 when Ashwin dismissed Australia's Glenn Maxwell before coming up with strange celebrations.
Recalling the moment, former India opener Virender Sehwag told Cricbuzz:
"Even when I was playing for Punjab, Ashwin dismissed Maxwell, picked up some dust and blew it off (in celebration). I didn't like that scene either but I didn't come out publicly to say that he should not have done that or it was against the spirit of the game, although MS Dhoni was very angry about it and scolded him a lot too."
Sehwag was at the non-striker's end when the incident happened. He said that he didn't like the celebrations but avoided an 'uproar' by keeping quiet about it in the media. He said:
"But it was Ashwin's wish to do that and if someone had come out talking about it in the media or social media it might have caused an uproar too. This is the player's responsibility, right? What happens inside should remain inside. If more things from the inside start coming out, I can guarantee every match will have something like this that will cause an uproar. The spirit of the game also says that players should leave what happens inside the ground as is and move on."
Sehwag's reaction came after Ashwin was involved in an exchange with Eoin Morgan during IPL 2021.
"I will never win the Fairplay Award" - Why MS Dhoni was seemingly angry with R Ashwin
MS Dhoni, in a 2023 interview, said that he would never win the fairplay award with Ambati Rayudu in his team, hinting at what irked Dhoni during IPL 2014. He said (via NDTV):
"The special thing about Rayudu is he will always give his 100% when he is on his field. But with him in the team, I will never win the Fairplay Award."
Dhoni always wanted his players to be disciplined on the field. Under his captaincy, CSK have several fairplay awards besides five IPL titles. The Ranchi-born player had won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade 2020 for calling back England batter Ian Bell, who was run out in an unusual manner in 2011.