“He is a very calculative player”

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed opener Prabhsimran Singh to emerge as the best batter for Punjab Kings (PBKS) apart from Shreyas Iyer in IPL 2026. The tournament is set to begin on Saturday, March 28.

During a discussion on his YouTube channel on Monday, March 23, Ashwin was asked to predict the best batter for PBKS aside from Iyer, and he picked Prabhsimran. He stated that the 25-year-old was impressive in the 2025 season, highlighting his 54-run knock against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and his performance against Noor Ahmad. Ashwin said:

“For the best batter, Prabhsimran. So I’ll go with Prabhsimran, if we are picking someone apart from Shreyas Iyer. Last year, he batted really well. He played some excellent knocks, including a very good innings against Chennai. The way he handled Noor Ahmad, I was very impressed.

“Because when Noor Ahmad bowls over the stumps to a right-hander, the ball pitches on the stumps and still doesn’t hit them. He was probably the first batter who swept those balls from outside leg stump. Then he stepped out and hit him straight down the ground. So he is a very calculative player,” he added.

In the 2025 edition, the wicketkeeper-batter scored 549 runs in 17 innings at an average of 32.29 and a strike rate of 160.52, including four fifties.

“If he works on his fitness slightly, it will help” – R Ashwin’s huge advice to Prabhsimran Singh

During the same discussion, Ravichandran Ashwin noted that there is scope for Prabhsimran Singh to improve his running between the wickets, and if he has worked on his cardio, he can score big runs in IPL 2026 as well. He said:

“I did feel that his running between the wickets could improve a bit. If he works on his fitness slightly, it will help. Running between the wickets has two aspects, speed and recovery. Different players have different speeds, but how quickly you recover after running two runs is important. I think that’s where he was slightly lacking last year. If he has worked on his cardio, then I think he can score good runs this year as well.”

Prabhsimran has featured in 51 IPL matches, scoring 1,305 runs at an average of 25.58 and a strike rate of 151.92, including seven fifties and one century.