The former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has stunned the fans after revealing his choice for the best opener of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026). Ashwin surprised many by ignoring some of the biggest batting stars of the season, including Virat Kohli and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, before finally naming his best opener of this season.
In the ongoing IPL 2026, most of the teams have managed to perform well because of their openers, and they have their biggest strength. Teams like the Gujarat Titans, the Punjab Kings, the Delhi Capitals, and the Sunrisers Hyderabad have been heavily dependent on their openers this season.
Ravichandran Ashwin stuns fans with his best IPL 2026 opener pick
During a fun comparison segment on ESPNCricinfo, Ravichandran Ashwin was asked to choose between openers one after another to pick the best opener of the ongoing IPL 2026.
He first backed KL Rahul over Prabhsimran Singh, who has so far scored 364 runs at an impressive average of 45.50 and a strike rate of 172.51 in 10 matches for Punjab Kings (PBKS).
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He continued choosing Rahul against several top batters this season, and the reason is his consistent and aggressive batting for the Delhi Capitals this season. Rahul has managed 468 runs in 11 matches with the highest score of 152* at an impressive strike rate of 180.00.
KL Rahul picked over several big names by Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin picked Rahul ahead of Sai Sudharsan, who has scored 440 runs this season at a strike rate of 157.70 for the Gujarat Titans, and Mitchell Marsh, who has smashed 377 runs for the Lucknow Super Giants this season at a strike rate of over 150.
Rahul also defeated Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has scored 312 runs for Chennai Super Kings, along with Ryan Rickelton, who has been sensational with 382 runs at a strike rate above 188 for the Mumbai Indians. Ashwin further backed Rahul over Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as well.
Gill has scored 462 runs this season at a strike rate above 160, while Jaiswal has once again been among the consistent performers for Rajasthan Royals with over 300 runs in 11 matches.
Ravichandran Ashwin rates Sanju Samson higher than KL Rahul and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in IPL 2026
But when Sanju Samson entered the comparison, Ashwin suddenly switched his choice and picked the Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper-batter over Rahul. Samson has been brilliant this season for CSK, scoring 430 runs at a strike rate close to 170, including an unbeaten 115-run knock.
Ravichandran Ashwin then shocked fans again by choosing Samson over Rajasthan Royals’ teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old RR batter has become one of the biggest stars of IPL 2026 after smashing 440 runs at an unbelievable strike rate of 236.55.
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Vaibhav is also leading the six-hitting charts this season with 40 sixes. However, he failed to deliver in some of the crucial matches, but Samson delivered when CSK needed it the most, and maybe that is the reason behind Ashwin’s pick. Well, the biggest twist came when the cricket pundit selected Abhishek Sharma as the best opener of IPL 2026.
Ravichandran Ashwin ignores Virat Kohli and Travis Head to pick Abhishek Sharma as the best IPL 2026 opener
Ashwin even picked Abhishek over Virat Kohli, who has so far scored 379 runs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) this season at a strike rate above 163. The veteran spinner also rated Abhishek ahead of dangerous openers like Priyansh Arya and Travis Head.
Priyansh has scored 286 runs this season at a mind-blowing strike rate above 242 for Punjab Kings, while Travis Head has so far made 361 runs for SRH at a strike rate of over 174. But Ashwin clearly felt Abhishek’s fearless batting has made the biggest impact in the ongoing IPL 2026.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad opener has been in unbelievable form in the ongoing IPL 2026. Abhishek has already scored 475 runs at a stunning strike rate of 210.17 and even smashed two 130-plus scores, becoming the first batter in IPL history to achieve that record in one season.
According to R Ashwin, who’s the best opener in IPL 2026? 👀 pic.twitter.com/N3v1g67Bac
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 11, 2026
