Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Prabhsimran Singh to be Punjab Kings’ best batter for the upcoming IPL 2026, apart from skipper Shreyas Iyer. Singh scored 549 runs in 17 innings at an average of 32.29 and a strike rate of 160.52.

The right-hander gave blistering starts to the Mohali-based franchise along with Priyansh Arya. Thus, he played an instrumental role in taking PBKS to the final of the tournament.

Ashwin recalled how the PBKS opener tackled CSK mystery spinner Noor Ahmad with guile in the previous season.

Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “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.

The former Indian off-spinner urged the wicket-keeper bat to work hard on his fitness as he feels the youngster was lacking a bit while running between the wickets.

“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.”

Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against the Gujarat Titans at Mullanpur on 31st March.