Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin left fans amused and slightly confused when he posted a picture of Bollywood actress Sunny Leone on his official X (formerly Twitter) account. The post was a two-image collage of Sunny Leone and a shot of Chennai’s Sadhu Street.
While many people tried to figure out what Ashwin was hinting at, some sharp-eyed fans quickly connected the dots. The post was actually a playful shoutout to Tamil Nadu all-rounder Sunny Sandhu, who recently made his T20 debut in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
👀 👀 pic.twitter.com/BgevYfPyPJ
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 9, 2025
Match-winning knock by Sandhu
A day earlier, Sandhu produced a match-winning cameo against Saurashtra at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Playing only his second match for Tamil Nadu, the 22-year-old smashed a blistering 30 off just 9 balls. His quick-fire knock, along with Sai Sudharsan’s unbeaten 101 off 55 balls, helped Tamil Nadu chase down the target and secure a crucial win.
Fans soon realized that Ashwin’s cheeky post was simply a clever way of applauding the young all-rounder’s impact. Sandhu, who has registered for the IPL 2026 mini-auction with a base price of Rs 30 lakh, might attract some attention from franchises after this performance and Ashwin’s endorsement.
What happened during the match?
Earlier in the same match, Tamil Nadu were struggling at 29 for 3 while chasing 183, after Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya struck early. With wickets falling around him, Sudharsan launched a superb counterattack, reaching his fifty in just 28 balls and showcasing his full range of strokes, flicks, pulls, cuts, and drives.
The league stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy wrapped up on Monday. Mumbai and Andhra qualified from Group A, Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh from Group B, Punjab and Haryana from Group C, and Rajasthan and Jharkhand from Group D. These eight teams will now move into the Super League round, split into two groups of four. The group toppers will meet in the final on December 18 in Pune.
