“Where do you fit Sarfaraz?” - R Ashwin’s blunt remark on CSK playing 11 after IPL 2026 auction

Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin questioned how Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will include Sarfaraz Khan in their plans, given their settled batting line-up, especially at the top. The five-time winners secured the batter's services at his base price during the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16.

Sarfaraz Khan has not had a fulfilling IPL career despite making his debut, a decade ago. He has played for three different franchises during the time frame, and went unsold in the previous auction. However, featuring at the top of the order for Mumbai in recent times has turned things around for him, as well as his improved fitness levels.

He came into the auction on the back of some red-hot form, scoring 329 runs in seven innings at an average of 65.80 and a strike rate of 203.80 in the ongoing 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). He has already scored three fifties and a hundred in the campaign, and has played a massive role in Mumbai's success so far.

Ashwin questioned how CSK will possibly fit Sarfaraz Khan into the mix, since they already have a stable top three of Sanju Samson, Ayush Mhatre, and Ruturaj Gaikwad in their potential playing XII.

"If CSK plans to open with Ayush Mhatre and Sanju Samson, and then Ruturaj Gaikwad at No.3, then where do you fit Sarfaraz? None of them are sweepers, there is no real batter in that batting lineup that brings the square of the wicket into play. Sarfaraz brings that dimension, and I knew 100 percent that CSK would get him at his base price in the end," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

Sarfaraz Khan initially went unsold in the IPL 2026 Auction, but CSK roped him in during the accelerated stage of the event later on.

CSK made other signings in the auction as well, several of which Ashwin had hinted at on social media. He had posted several cryptic tweets regarding Matt Henry and other players before the event. The former player had also come under the scanner for disclosing the news of Shardul Thakur's trade to the Mumbai Indians (MI) before the retention deadline.

Ashwin, however, defended himself, asserting that his posts have no bearing on the auction or a player's price tag, as the franchises are well aware of the players through their scouting and analysis.

"You guys think I am leaking everything. How am I supposed to get CSK's information? I don't know anyone from there. I was their player once, and now I am out. I admit that I enjoy the banter on social media, but please understand that all of the other teams watch cricket, and they know about all the players. If I know one player, thousands of others know it as well. I have not leaked anything, so please remove this notion from your head," Ashwin said.

"Dhoni will take a backseat" - R Ashwin's bold prediction about CSK's campaign in IPL 2026

The current CSK setup has as many as four wicket-keeping options after the trade window and the IPL 2026 Auction. MS Dhoni is expected to remain as the first-choice glovesman for the time being, but the franchise have other lucrative options like Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, and Sanju Samson in the squad as well.

Going by CSK's all-out pursuit for new talent and revamped approach, Ashwin feels that MS Dhoni is likely to be behind the scenes rather than at the frontline like usual.

"I think this time, Dhoni will take a backseat. I feel like he won't play all the games. The number of keepers CSK have bought, the investment that have done, I think Dhoni will play if and when required. I feel really bad for Ayush Mhatre, Urvil Patel, and Dewald Brevis. Because if they had come in this auction, imagine the prices they would have got," Ashwin said of CSK.

CSK had triggered a major overhaul after their dismal start to the 2025 campaign. After acquiring some key players as replacements in an injury-ravaged campaign, they released a vast majority of the players after the season to conduct their rebuild.

Edited by Gokul Nair