Sarfaraz Khan Walks With Illegal Bat On CSK Debut (Source: AP)
Making his return to the IPL after spending two seasons out, Sarfaraz Khan made his debut for the Chennai Super Kings on Monday evening against the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati.
As CSK begin their IPL 2026 campaign, things did not go as planned in the first powerplay for them, losing the top-3 batters in just 3.1 overs, forcing them to use the impact substitute and send Sarfaraz to bat. However, as the Rajasthan Royals asserted dominance early in the match, Sarfaraz committed a blunder without even facing a ball.
Sarfaraz Khan walks out with an illegal bat on CSK debut
As per the regulations since 2025, the batters are no longer allowed to use bats with edge thickness above 4 cm (1.56 inches) and overall depth of 6.7 cm (2.64 inches). The maximum width allowed is 10.8 cm (4.25 inches).
The umpires use the bat gauge, which checks all these dimensions of the bat upon the batter walking onto the field, as it is seen during every match. Sarfaraz Khan, who walked in to bat at 19/3 at the 3.2 over mark, failed to pass this test and had to call upon the substitute with the other bats, with permissible dimensions to start his batting.
Urvil Patel, who is not playing the season opener, came out with Sarfaraz Khan’s other bat, and he was only allowed to continue when the new bat was also checked by the on-field umpire. Previously in the IPL 2026 season, the Mumbai Indians legend, Rohit Sharma, was also comically seen arguing with the umpire before walking in to bat during match 2 at Wankhede.
Sarfaraz’s second coming in IPL
The right-hand batter made a name for himself in the IPL early on in his teenage, when he broke into the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2015. He was shockingly also retained ahead of the mega auction over several other big names. However, he failed to deliver the potential shown in his debut season and did not get more than 8 matches till IPL 2023.
In the meantime, he also missed IPL 2017 before eventually finding himself out in IPL 2024 and 2025. Ahead of the player auction for IPL 2026, he had a fantastic Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025/26, scoring 329 runs in 7 innings for Mumbai, scoring at a strike rate of 203.08 and averaging 65.80, with three fifties and a hundred.
Also Read: Who Is Brijesh Sharma? Jammu And Kashmir-Born Pacer Making IPL Debut For Rajasthan Royals
His white-ball performances, alongside the consistent red-ball performances, were rewarded by CSK, who were looking for a squad overhaul in IPL 2026. He was bought for the base price of INR 75 lakh and immediately got to make his debut, in rather unpleasant circumstances in Guwahati.
CSK face early trouble in IPL 2026
Ahead of CSK’s IPL 2026 opening fixture, the Men in Yellow received dreaded news of the injuries to MS Dhoni and Dewald Brevis, who were their key starting members, heading into the competition.
In addition to the crucial players missing out, the Nandre Burger and Jofra Archer opening spell ripped CSK to shreds, dismissing Sanju Samson for 6 (7), followed by Ruturaj Gaikwad for 6 (11) and a golden duck for Ayush Mhatre. Sarfaraz Khan tried to fix things up but only managed 17 off 12 before eventually getting lbw to Ravindra Jadeja.
At the time of writing, they find themselves 70/6 at the halfway stage, with youngster Kartik Sharma and Jamie Overton trying to do some repair-work.
Also Read: "A Liability Once Again": Fans Laugh At Sanju Samson For Massive Failure On CSK Debut
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