"CSK should look at riding his purple patch by slotting him into Playing XII": Ashwin on Sarfaraz Khan's incredible form in domestic cricket

New Delhi [India], December 31 (ANI): As Sarfaraz Khan continues his incredible form in domestic cricket, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin backed him to become a regular batter for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
This comes after Sarfaraz smashed 157 off 75 balls against Goa in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), including nine boundaries and 14 sixes, showcasing his power-hitting abilities.
Sarfaraz played a breathtaking knock, reaching his century in just 56 balls. Ashwin also pointed out Sarfaraz's scores in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he slammed 329 runs in seven matches with a strike-rate of 203.08 and an average of 65.80.
In an X post Ashwin wrote, "100*(47), 52(40), 64(25), 73(22) in the SMAT. That form's 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. '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 XII surely? A genuine problem of plenty with the bat for the men in yellow this season! Can't wait for IPL 2026."
After his successful outing in SMAT, five-time IPL winner CSK bagged the right-hand batter from Rs 75 lakh at the IPL 2026 mini-auction earlier this month.
Chennai Super Kings Squad: 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, Khaleel Ahmed, Sanju Samson Akeal Hosein, Prashant Veer, Kartik Sharma, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar, Zak Foulkes. (ANI)