IPL 2025: Chennai’s new teen sensation, Ayush Mhatre announces arrival in style

Dubai: The 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi lit up Saturday night. Less than 24 hours later, 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre blasted his way into the Indian Premier League with a fearless debut for Chennai Super Kings.

The right-handed Chennai Super Kings debutant scored an entertaining 32 off 15 balls at his home turf, the Wankhede Stadium, in the second game of Sunday’s double-header.

Facing Mumbai Indians’ young left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar, Mhatre struck a four and two sixes in his first four balls, including back-to-back sixes early in his innings — echoing Suryavanshi’s stunning assault the night before.

Chennai Super Kings sprung a surprise by handing a debut cap to the 17-year-old Mumbai Ranji player, who replaced Rahul Tripathi to become the youngest player ever to represent the franchise.

Mhatre, who also bowls off-spin, has been in excellent form this season. He smashed 181 against Nagaland in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and followed it up with 148 against Saurashtra. He made his debut for Mumbai against Rest of India, opening the batting with Prithvi Shaw. Born in 2007, Mhatre was also a key member of India’s Under-19 squad at the 2024 Asia Cup.

He took to cricket at the age of five, but it was only at 15 that he began seriously considering a professional career. To chase his dreams, he would travel nearly 80 kilometres one way by train from Virar, on the outskirts of Mumbai, to Churchgate, next to the Wankhede Stadium, to access better training facilities, Cricinfo reported.

At 17, he made his first-class debut for Mumbai and scored his maiden century in just his third game in the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy season. On the final day of 2024, he broke List A records by scoring 181 off 117 balls in the Vijay Hazare Trophy — becoming the youngest to hit 150 or more in an innings, surpassing a record previously held by his then-teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Though he went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, an injury to Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad handed Mhatre a late call-up midway through the tournament — and a debut soon after.

“I started to play early, but my real cricket started when I was 10,” the teenage batting sensation told The Indian Express last year. “I got admission in Don Bosco High School in Matunga, and it was my grandfather Laxmikant Naik (Nana) who took the responsibility to take me there every day. So in the morning, I used to go for practice in Matunga, attend school, and then go to Churchgate to attend another practice. My family used to tell my grandfather not to ruin my sleep, but now they too feel that my sacrifice is paying off.”

At the toss, Chennai captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni urged his players to express themselves as they look to revive their campaign after five consecutive losses. The team finally broke the streak last Monday with a win over Lucknow Super Giants.

“You have to play bold cricket, but at the same time, when you tell someone to go play their shots, it’s important for the batsman to know what his shots are. Similarly, for bowlers. So there are quite a few things to keep in mind in either department. But it’s important to let players express themselves,” Dhoni said.

Chennai Super Kings’ next-generation talents — opener Shaikh Rasheed, who made his debut in the previous match against Lucknow, and now Mhatre — certainly did express themselves against Mumbai.ed, who made his debut in the previous match against Lucknow, and now Mhatre — certainly did express themselves against Mumbai.