In a day or two, the teenage batting star will join the Mumbai team.
Five times After acquiring 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre to succeed captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Chennai Super Kings, the Indian Premier tournament (IPL) champions, appear poised to unleash another youthful talent in the T20 tournament. The captain of CSK was sidelined for the rest of the IPL season due to a fractured elbow. The management decided to appoint the franchise’s legend, MS Dhoni, as captain in response to the circumstances, but the squad still required a batsman to cover Gaikwad’s absence. The management of CSK chose to offer Mhatre an IPL contract for the rest of the season following a successful two-week trial.In the home circuit, Mhatre has already made an impression on many. He has scored two hundred and a half in nine first-class matches for Mumbai. In seven list A matches, the batter has also played for Mumbai, where he scored a best score of 181 against Nagaland. Ayush specializes in turning starts into large scores. Another excellent illustration of this is his 148 against Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.In an interview with The Indian Express last year, the adolescent hitting superstar stated, “I started to play when I was 6 but my real cricket started when I was 10.” After I was accepted to Don Bosco High School in Matunga, my grandfather Laxmikant Naik (Nana) took on the duty of driving me there each day. I used to practice at Matunga in the morning, go to school, and then go to Churchgate for another practice. My grandfather used to be warned by my family not to disturb my sleep, but now they also believe that my dedication is being rewarded.
Ayush comes from a lowly background, and he is grateful to his parents for their support despite the family’s financial struggles over the years.
“I never realized that there was a financial issue at home because of my parents. For example, I didn’t request a new bat if the old one was broken. Even now, my father goes with me on the local train so that he can handle any verbal altercation with someone and prevent me from taking it personally when I’m up against them,” he continued.When India captain Rohit Sharma made his much awaited comeback to the country’s top domestic red-ball competition, Ayush, who represented Mumbai in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy campaign, was forced to sit out the match. Later, Mhatre posted a note and selfie for his hero, Rohit.
