India, Nov. 13 -- With just days to go before all 10 franchises officially announce their retention lists for the IPL 2026 auction, speculation over who stays and who goes has gripped world cricket, and even its experts. Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, who was part of the Chennai Super Kings setup until last season before retiring from the IPL earlier this summer, engaged in a freewheeling chat on his YouTube channel about possible retentions, but in the process, inadvertently revealed the Mumbai Indians' recent trade plan, which had only surfaced in media reports a few hours earlier.

Ashwin's comment came during his discussion on the ongoing drama over the Ravindra Jadeja-Sam Curran trade for Sanju Samson between Chennai Sup...