"I hate playing games that are televised" - R Ashwin's interesting take on practice matches post IND vs WI 2025 2nd Test

Former all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin came up with an interesting take on practice matches being televised. He reflected on the same post the second Test between India and the West Indies. India defeated the visitors by seven wickets to claim a 2-0 series victory.

Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that he hated playing practice matches that would be televised. The veteran was discussing about the West Indies not playing practice matches before their series against India began.

He reckoned that practice matches were meant to try out new things and for experimentation. However, as Indian cricketers are always in the spotlight, he stated that they would be criticised even for a failure in a practice match.

"As an Indian cricketer, we’re always under the microscope. I hate playing games that are televised and not Tests. If I want to try something new (e.g., carrom ball), it might go wrong. Where do I try? If practice matches are televised, then I have to fail in front of everyone. There’s judgment. So, we don’t want it. Maybe Virat wants to bat left-handed, try something new, bat another way, if he gets out, there’s criticism," he said on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.

"Practice games are there to try out, what the players want to, at their own pace, for experimentation. It is about trying something and testing the waters," he added.

Ashwin retired from international cricket in 2024, midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. He recently retired from IPL cricket as well. The 39-year-old played 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is. He picked up 537, 156, and 72 wickets across the three formats, respectively. With the bat, he was most successful in Tests with 3503 runs that included six hundreds and 14 fifties.

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Ashwin's take on not wanting to play televised practice games explains why India's intra-squad games in England and Australia were not streamed

During their recent Test series in England, India and India A played an intra-squad match. The BCCI had denied access to media personnel and broadcast at the Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham, where the match was played.

There was no streaming of the game either. The BCCI had given a statement to the reporters as well that it would be a "closed intra-squad game" and there would be "no vision access to Media/Broadcast."

Before the opening Test in Perth in 2024 as well, India had a closed-door practice session. Ravichandran Ashwin's insights on not wanting to play televised practice games also explain why the intra-squad games were not streamed.