Sarfaraz Khan (Image credit: NEW DELHI: As Sarfaraz Khan continues his rich run of form in domestic cricket, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the right-hander to become a regular batsman for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.Ashwin’s boost comes after Sarfaraz smashed a blistering 157 off 75 balls against Goa in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), an innings that included nine boundaries and 14 sixes and underlined his power in the strokes.
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Sarfaraz reached his hundred in just 56 balls, a breathtaking knock. Ashwin also highlighted the batsman’s performances in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he amassed 329 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 203.08 and an average of 65.80.Posting on X, Ashwin wrote: “100*(47), 52(40), 64(25), 73(22) in SMAT. That form flowed smoothly to Hazare with a score of 55(49) followed today by 157(75) with 14 sixes. sweeps “Avan kadhava thattala, idichi odachitu irukaan.” (He doesn’t knock on the door, he breaks it down) CSK should look at the ride on his purple patch and stick him in the Playing XII for sure? A real problem with the bat for the men in yellow this season! Can’t wait for IPL 2026.” After his achievements in the SMAT, five-time IPL champions CSK secured the services of the right-handed batter for Rs 75 crore in the IPL 2026 mini-auction earlier this month.Chennai Super Kings Team: Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Noor Ahmad, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Pharash Khalealson, Hachealson Sam, H. Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes.
