Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has made a statement regarding Virat Kohli’s exclusion from his best-playing XI of the Indian Premier League 2025. He didn’t pick the top performer of Royal Challengers Bengaluru while selecting the team during his discussion with the panellists. He went ahead with Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill.

Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, and Josh Hazlewood, the three RCB players, made it to his team. The Gujarat Titans (GT) opening pair was preferred over Kohli. The RCB opener was in stunning form during the 18th season, scoring 657 runs at an average of 54.75 and a strike rate of 144.71. On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan won the Orange Cap with 759 runs coming from his bat, while Shubman Gill scored 650 runs at an average of 50.00 and a strike rate of 155.87.

After facing massive flak for not considering Virat Kohli, Ashwin was forced to explain, stating that the decision was purely a cricket-based call and that there was no hidden agenda behind it.

“We recently picked up a team, and there was no place for Virat Kohli. You mentioned that I forgot his name or didn’t talk about him. There is no doubt that Virat played well, but there was no place for him in the squad. It is not personal at all, so please don’t think like that,” he said.

R Ashwin’s best playing XI for IPL 2025

Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Nicholas Pooran, Jitesh Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood, and Noor Ahmad.