“He is not knocking on the door, he is breaking it open” - Ravi Ashwin wants Sarfaraz Khan to be a regular batter in CSK’s playing XI in IPL 2026

Former Indian spinner and analyst Ravi Ashwin has backed Mumbai middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan to be a regular batter in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) playing XI in the IPL 2026 season, which is scheduled to start in March.

Ravi Ashwin took to X (Formerly Twitter) to heap praises on the explosive batter Sarfaraz, who has been scoring runs consistently in domestic cricket. Notably, the middle-order better scored 157 runs off 75 balls against Goa in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 season with nine fours and 14 sixes on Wednesday, December 31, as Mumbai bagged an 87-run win.

Interestingly, Sarfaraz reached his century in only 56 balls. Ashwin also stressed Sarfaraz's outings in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025-26 campaign, in which he scored 329 runs in seven matches at an average of 65.80 and a strike rate of 203.08.

"100(47), 52(40), 64(25), 73(22) in the SMAT. That form has transitioned seamlessly into the Hazare with scores of 55(49) followed by a blistering 157(75) today with 14 sixes. It's particularly impressive how he murders spin in the middle overs with his sweeps and slog sweeps,” Ravi Ashwin wrote on X.

“'Avan kadhava thattala, idichi odachitu irukaan.' (He is not knocking on the door, he is breaking it open.) CSK should look at riding his purple patch by slotting him into the Playing XI surely? A genuine problem of plenty with the bat for the men in yellow this season! Can't wait for IPL 2026,” he went on to write.

https://x.com/ashwinravi99/status/2006314294682775941 

Notably, CSK acquired Sarfaraz Khan’s services for INR 75 lakh in the IPL 2026 mini-auction in December 2025.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) full squad for IPL 2026

MS Dhoni, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton*, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis*, Noor Ahmad*, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis*, Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry*, Akeal Hosein*, Matthew Short*, Zak Foulkes*, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan.

*Denotes overseas player.

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