Ashwin keeps a close eye on the domestic circuit and named Ravichandran Smaran a player to watch out for, but he clarified that despite having the same name, they are not relative.

“Ravichandran Smaran is not my relative. He has Ravichandran in his name, but he is not related to me. Please don’t think like that as I praise him. It’s not like that in south India,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Smaran had an astonishing average of 72.16 with 433 runs in 10 List-A matches in his career so far. Meanwhile, in the last Ranji Trophy match against Punjab, he slammed a magnificent double century to help Karnataka outclass Punjab in the round 6 match.

‘I’m sure a lot of IPL teams would have noticed him’

The veteran spinner also praised Smaran for his recent domestic cricket exploits and suggested that several IPL teams will surely be keeping a close eye on him in the future.

“He performed so well in Vijay Hazare Trophy. I’m sure a lot of IPL teams would have noticed him. He is a left-handed batter from Karnataka. He did a good job in the Karnataka Premier League as well, and he continued in the same vein in Ranji Trophy, scoring a double hundred,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ashwin sent shockwaves through the cricketing fraternity by announcing his retirement from international cricket following the draw in the third Test at Brisbane. Notably, Ashwin had not played in that match. He featured in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval, scoring 29 runs across both innings and taking one wicket. Before this series, he was part of India’s shocking home Test series loss to New Zealand, their first in 12 years. Ashwin had been one of the key architects of India’s dominant Test run at home.