‘Thanks CSK for giving me new life,’ Sarfaraz Khan expresses gratitude after finding new IPL home

Domestic giant Sarfaraz Khan has expressed his gratitude to IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for making a late bid for him at the recently concluded mini auction in Abu Dhabi. Priced at INR 75 lakh, Sarfaraz failed to attract any bids in the first round but found his new IPL home in the five-time winners CSK as their sixth buy of the evening. Known for scoring heaps of runs in red-ball cricket, Sarfaraz rocked the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) with his quick-fire 22-ball 73 just ahead of the auction.

Replying to a post by a CSK fan page named ‘WhistlePodu Army – CSK Fan Club’, Sarfaraz wrote, ‘Thank you so much CSK, for giving me new life.’

Sarfaraz Khan thanks CSK for auction bid Photograph: (X)

The right-handed batter played for a couple of franchises earlier, including Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals, and ahead of the 2026 auction, was expected to make some noise at the auction table, given his recent T20 form. At the ongoing SMAT, the 27-year-old has already whacked 256 runs in six outings, averaging 64 and striking at 182.85.

Meanwhile, CSK headed into the mini-auction with the second biggest purse after the Kolkata Knight Riders. Although they failed to bag Cameron Green, for whom they fought till the end with the KKR, who purchased him for a record $2.76mn (INR 25.20 crore), CSK splurged INR 14.20 crore each on the uncapped Indian rookies, Prashant Veer and Kartik Sharma. They also strengthened their bowling after picking up New Zealand seamer Matt Henry and Indian leggie Rahul Chahar.

Not only this, but ahead of this auction, Chennai also pulled off a master trade, bringing in keeper-batter Sanju Samson (from Rajasthan Royals for INR 18 crore) for their veteran Ravindra Jadeja and English all-rounder Sam Curran.

The former five-time champions have completed their quota of 25 players ahead of the 19th edition, starting on March 26 next year. IPL 2026 will conclude on May 31.