‘He Saw Something’ – Sunny Sandhu Opens Up on Ashwin Tweet, IPL Trials and 2026 Auction Chances [EXCLUSIVE]

Young Tamil Nadu all-rounder Sunny Sandhu is one exciting talent in the works and can see himself bag a contract in the upcoming IPL 2026 auction. Backed by Ravichandran Ashwin in a viral tweet, the 22-year-old recently made headlines with his batting carnage in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT 2025), blasting Chetan Sakariya for 26 runs in one over that included three fours and two maximums.

An out-and-out pace-bowling all-rounder, Sunny is an endangered species in the IPL, which makes him a solid investment opportunity. He has already received call-ups for trials and is now waiting for his fortunes to turn on the auction day.

4️⃣,4️⃣,6️⃣,6️⃣,4️⃣

With 40 required off four overs, Sunny Sandhu turned it around with a game-changing over 🔥

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/DlpijtPpFx @IDFCFIRSTBank | #SMAT pic.twitter.com/bkaaSpEl1S
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 8, 2025

Sunny also comes with the experience of playing in franchise cricket, having plied his trade in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) the past few seasons and is ready to make the jump to IPL

In a freewheeling chat with CricXtasy, the young powerhouse of talent opened up on his journey so far, the recent tweet from Ashwin and his IPL ambitions.

Q. Let’s start from your early days. How did cricket happen and how did your family support?

I started playing cricket from school. So I first enrolled in an academy near my village. I told my father that I also have to go, I have to play and then they got my admission done. Since then, I have never been put under too much pressure for my studies they also supported my ambitions to play cricket. My family has always been positive – both my parents.

There used to be holidays from school and it would mostly be spent for cricket tournaments. From a young age, my parents would come whether it’s late or cold or anything, they would be present to watch me and so I also kept playing with interest.

Q. When did you decide to take up the sport professionally?

Initally there was not much knowledge on how to go about things and take the sport up professionally. I used to play age-group cricket for school from Panipat and Haryana and slowly i started learning. Then I had a little more maturity with more knowledge of the game and my performances also boosted my confidence in pursuing the game. From there, it got easier and better since I had a foundation of learnings to base my decisions.

Q. You had shifted base from Haryana to Tamil Nadu early in your career. Take us through that journey…

I had a brother who played in an academy in Chennai, and he would come to play to matches in Gurgaon. This one time we played on the same team and I ended up scoring a century. The person via who my brother had come was a senior in my team and they were good friends. So he opened the channels for me and asked what could be done to help me grow. The friend then made arrangements for me to shift to Chennai and that’s how I ended up shifting bases. In the beginning, there were struggles with a new place but the environment was nice and helpful which supported my growth.

Q. You recently gave trials with KKR? How did it go?

I have given just one trial so far. I went to KKR time after they called me. Abhishek Nayar sir was also there and we were made to play a proper T20 match.

Q. Ravichandran Ashwin recently made a cryptic Tweet about you. What were your reactions?

Actually, I don’t even know why. What was the meaning of the tweet. So then some of my friends from Chennai they were forwarding me the post and I asked them what’s the meaning of it. So they told me that it was Sunny Leone and Sandhu Street so he is talking about you and that’s when I understood.

Read the full chat here.

Q. What do you think of your chances with CSK after Ashwin’s Tweet?

There have been no conversations with CSK and I haven’t received any call-up for a trial with them. I will be attending the Mumbai Indians (MI) trials next.

Q. You gave an absolute masterclass in hitting against Chetan Sakariya. Take us through your mindset in that over…

I was batting with Sai Sudharsan and we needed around 40-odd runs from four overs. There was no pressure with Sai on the other end, given his experience in the IPL and India. The conversation was to be aware and if there’s an opportunity, try to take it on. You have to react according to the ball that you get and there was no particular intention behind targeting Sakariya.

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Q. What are you doing to practice your power-hitting and crack the IPL code?

We are professional athletes so gymming is mandatory. If I get a little bit of time, I try the same thing of visualising situations and practicing my flow. Also while throw downs, I practice a little bit of hitting so that my hands naturally open like that and it becomes muscle memory. Plus. I’m from Haryana, so the brute power is there.

Q. How do you identify yourself – As a Batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder?

Both (laughs). I will do whatever is required of me and I try to do it well so that I can contribute in a win for my team. It’s a job that you are required to do and I cannot pick one. But i started batting as an opener and used to do wicketkeeping as well.

Q. Favourite All-rounders?

Hardik Pandya in white-ball and Ben Stokes in Test cricket.

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