IPL 2026: ‘Yeh nayi murgi hai,’ Virender Sehwag, R Ashwin's funny banter during RCB vs SRH game go viral; watch video

Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin made his commentary debut during the IPL 2026 opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

Ashwin predicted SRH would beat RCB. Sehwag, seated alongside him in the commentary box, light-heartedly welcomed him in the manner of a college senior teasing a fresher.

Ashwin had retired from the IPL at the end of the 2025 season, when Chennai Super Kings (CSK) finished a disappointing 10th.

Sehwag replied: "Toh bhai mujhe toh lag raha hai ki aaj dabaav saara Ashwin ke upar hai. Yeh nayi murgi hai. (I think the entire pressure is on Ashwin today; he's the newcomer)."

It was then that Ashwin predicted that SRH would do wonders against RCB. "Maine bada prediction bhi kiya hai aaj SRH ka... SRH dhoom machayenge. (I have made a big prediction for SRH today, they will do wonders)," he said.

"Woh toh tu waise bhi karta hai dressing room mein baith ke. (You do that anyway while sitting in the dressing room)," replied Sehwag. He then recalled an incident during Ashwin's captaincy.

“Ek baar, mujhe yaad hai Ashwin captain tha, toh mere saath dressing room mein baitha hua tha. Bola, 'Paaji yaar, off-spinner aa gaya, main kya karoon?' Maine kaha, 'Tu ja, pehli ball se ghuma.' (I remember when Ashwin was captain, he was sitting with me in the dressing room. He said, 'Paaji, an off-spinner has come on, what should I do?' I told him, ‘You just go and swing from the first ball’),” he reminisced.

"Teen-chaar over ho gaye, koi out nahi hua. Hum gappe maarte rahe. Finally, koi out hua toh Ashwin gaya. Pehli ball hat ke maar raha tha, out ho ke wapas aa ke baitha. Bola, 'Nahi, itna aasaan nahi hai.' Maine kaha, 'Haan, itna aasaan nahi hai.' (Three or four overs passed, and no one got out, so we kept chatting. Finally, someone was dismissed, and Ashwin went in. He tried to create space to hit the first ball but got out. He came back, sat down, and said, 'No, it's not that easy.' I replied, 'Yes, it isn't that easy')," added the former India opener.

Aakash Chopra joined the chat once again and said, "Off-spinner bhi achhe gendbaaz hote hain. (Off-spinners are good bowlers too)."

Before Ashwin could reply, Sehwag stepped in and said: "Out bhi off-spinner ko hi hue thhe. (He got out to an off-spinner, too)."

"Bowler kaun tha pata hai? K. Gowtham tha. (Do you know who the bowler was? It was K. Gowtham)," responded the former CSK player.

Ashwin's prediction, however, was wrong as RCB scripted a six-wicket win over SRH to begin their IPL 2026 title defence in style. Ashwin is set to play for San Francisco Unicorns in the upcoming season of Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA. He retired from international cricket in December 2024, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.