In comedy you are always taught to punch up, if you punch down, it basically means you have no material to uplift the people. A cricketer of the stature of Ravichandran Ashwin is supposed to be the one providing platform to different voices. But what he did to Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, a former India spinner turned commentator was a classic example of punching down. Sivaramakrishnan announced his retirement from BCCI commentary citing what he called colour discrimination by BCCI — a serious charge against the world’s most powerful cricket board. What it got in response from Ashwin wasn’t engagement. It was a joke. And that’s exactly the problem.
A Farewell That Became a Firestorm
When fans pressed him on the reason for his exit, Siva pointed to “colour discrimination,” noting that despite 23 years in the commentary box, he was never assigned toss duties or post-match presentations, even as newcomers walked straight into those roles.
For anyone who has followed commentary panels closely, it wasn’t an outlandish claim. It was the kind of slow-burn frustration that builds over decades before it finally spills out — and when it did, it deserved to be taken seriously.
A Grudge Dressed Up as a Joke
Ashwin, the first prominent cricketing name to respond, wrote: “Oh no! Why not this IPL?” — a sarcastic nudge questioning the timing of Siva’s exit. Sharp, punchy, and a complete sidestep of what Siva actually said. The two have prior history — Sivaramakrishnan had publicly criticised Ashwin’s record in SENA countries, so the bad blood is documented.
But using an old grudge to undercut a discrimination claim isn’t a clapback. It’s punching down. Siva had even posted days earlier, quietly hoping for an IPL 2026 contract email — which makes Ashwin’s joke land even harder, and not in the way he intended.
Whether Siva’s claim holds up to full scrutiny or not, it deserved something more than a sick burn. If more than a million impressions was the goal for Ashwin, bravo, he has it, but to dismiss a concern with such brazen punching down technique is not quite Ashwin like.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect the official policy or position of Financial Express.