New Delhi: Young players have performed brilliantly in IPL 2025. This year, Priyansh Arya of Punjab Kings, Vaibhav Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals and 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre of Chennai Super Kings have caught everyone's attention. Mhatre, who joined the team in place of injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, scored 32 and 30 runs in his very first match against Mumbai Indians. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore, he scored 94 runs in 48 balls. Mhatre may have missed the century, but his innings impressed everyone. His father Yogesh Mhatre says that he still has a long way to go and it is not right to celebrate in a hurry. MS Dhoni also praised Mhatre's innings and encouraged him to perform well in the future.
Gaikwad's place was found in the team
Ayush Mhatre was included in the team by CSK after Ruturaj Gaikwad was injured. Gaikwad suffered an elbow fracture, due to which he was out for the entire season. Before including Mhatre in the team, the CSK team took his trial at Chepauk. During the trial, the CSK scouting team kept a close eye on Mhatre. In the match against Mumbai Indians, Mhatre became the youngest player to play in the IPL. He scored 32 runs in his first innings and 30 runs in the second innings. But Mhatre showed his real talent against RCB. He scored 94 runs in 48 balls. In this innings, he hit 5 sixes and 9 fours. Thanks to Mhatre's brilliant innings, CSK scored 214 runs, but RCB won the match by 2 runs.
Mhatre may have missed out on scoring a century by 6 runs, but his innings caught everyone's attention. Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored a brilliant century against PBKS while playing for Rajasthan Royals. Priyansh played a stormy innings of 103 against CSK and 69 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Ayush Mhatre's father Yogesh Mhatre says that his son still has a long way to go. He said that it is not right to celebrate from now on. He also said that Ayush does not need to be like Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Yogesh Mhatre told Mid-Day, 'I have told Ayush that he and Vaibhav are both different types of batsmen. If someone compares him to Vaibhav, he should not keep this in mind. I have also told him that he should not try to imitate Vaibhav or score a century like him. I think there is no need for Ayush to take any kind of pressure and try to do big things. He still has a long way to go.'
MS Dhoni praised
MS Dhoni praised Mhatre after playing a brilliant innings against RCB. Mhatre told in a video on CSK's YouTube channel that Dhoni told him, 'Well done, champion'. Yogesh told that Dhoni also told Ayush, 'Well played. Keep doing well like this in the future. Keep performing well like this in the future as well.' Yogesh said that these words of Dhoni mean a lot to Ayush, as he respects Dhoni a lot. He felt that Dhoni was believing in Ayush's ability and entrusting him with important responsibility in the future.
Mhatre told that when he came to bat, his plan was to play positive cricket and take 1-2 chances in every over. He said that if he got even 2 fours in every over, it would have been enough. Mhatre shared a 114-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja was in good rhythm and was hitting boundaries, so Mhatre rotated the strike and played at a slow pace. After Jadeja was out, Mhatre scored runs quickly and put pressure on the RCB bowlers.
