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The 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre made his IPL debut for CSK against MI at Wankhede Stadium. His debut followed a successful trial with CSK and a viral resurfaced interview from when he was 6 years old.
Young Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre has made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing clash against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 20.
The 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre’s IPL debut came just a day after Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to play in IPL at the age of 14 against Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur on Saturday, April 19. Mhatre was signed by Chennai Super Kings as a replacement for skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2025 due to elbow injury, which he sustained during the clash against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati.
Before he was signed by Chennai Super Kings, Ayush Mhatre was called up by the scouting team for the mid-season trial in Chennai. As per the report by Times of India (TOI), CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan confirmed that Ayush was asked to attend the trials in Chennai after he impressed the talent scouts. CSK confirmed Mumbai batter’s inclusion in the squad ahead of the clash against Lucknow Super Giants on April 14.
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Ayush Mhatre’s old interview goes viral amid his IPL debut
Amid his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings against Mumbai Indians, a 6-year-old Ayush Mhatre’s interview went viral on social media. The young Mhatre is a product of Vengsarkar Cricket Academy run by former India batter Dilip Vengsarkar and had just picked his bat when he first gave his interview. In a video interview, a 6-year-old Mhatre can be seen giving one-word replies to the questions and showing his batting skills in the nets.
Then, Ayush Mhatre’s grandfather, who would escort him to the Mumbai maidans and academy, was interviewed. When asked about enrolling him for training at an early age, his grandfather, Laxmikant Naik stated that Ayush showed his batting talent at a young age, adding that he could not have found a better academy than Vengsarkar Cricket Academy, given it is owned by a former India captain.
“We saw his talent with the bat. We thought whether he becomes something big in the sport or not is a matter of destiny. But it is our duty to push him.” Ayush Mhatre’s grandfather said in a video.
“We sent him to Vengsarkar Cricket Academy because who hasn’t heard his name? He was a legend before Sachin Tendulkar became one. So we thought we should send him to work under someone of that stature. Ayush has the talent to grow rapidly if he learns from the best.” he added.
Ayush Mhatre went on to make his name in the maidans of Mumbai and school cricket. Ayush Mhatre first made it to the local headlines back in 2019, when he scored two double centuries for the IES VN Sule Guruji (Dadar)- 202 and 207 in the Giles Shield Tournament. In 2022, he smashed a brilliant 213 off 131 balls in the Harris Shield match at the Islam Gymkhana.
Ayush Mhatra’s domestic cricket career
Ayush Mhatre was shot to national headlines when he played a brilliant innings of 176 off 232 balls in the first innings that helped Mumbai post a total of 441 on the board and a 315-run lead against Maharashtra at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy at BKC. In his debut Ranji Trophy season for Mumbai, Mhatre aggregated 471 runs, including two centuries and a fifty, at an average of 33.64 in 14 innings.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, the young batter was the highest run-getter for Mumbai, amassing 458 runs, including two centuries and a fifty, at an average of 65.42 in seven matches. His best performance came against Nagaland, scoring 181 off 117 balls in Mumbai’s 189-run win. He shattered Yashasvi Jaiswal’s record for being the youngest batter to score 150+ in List A cricket at the age of 17 years and 168 balls.
In first class cricket, Ayush Mhatre has amassed 504 runs, including two centuries and fifties, at an average of 31.50 in 9 matches.
Ayush Mhatra listed himself at the IPL 2025 Auction for a base price of INR 30 lakh, but did not find any buyer despite his impressive performance in his debut season for Mumbai last year.
