IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings has selected a replacement for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Due to a back injury, Gaikwad will no longer participate in IPL 2025. So, Chennai has signed 17-year-old Mumbai batter Ayush Mahatme as his replacement. It is reported that Ayush will join the Chennai team before their April 20 match against Mumbai Indians.
Ayush was initially called for a trial by Chennai after showing strong performances in domestic cricket. He impressed everyone during the trial, which led to his signing for IPL 2025. Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out on April 10 due to injury. Following this, MS Dhoni returned as the captain of Chennai after a one-year gap.
However, under Dhoni’s leadership, Chennai lost their first match of the ongoing IPL season to Kolkata Knight Riders. The team is scheduled to play against Lucknow Super Giants on Monday. Ayush is expected to join the Chennai squad around the Mumbai Indians match in his hometown, Mumbai. After the match against Lucknow, Chennai will travel to Mumbai, and Ayush will link up with the team there.
Chennai had also called Urvil Patel from Gujarat and Salman Nizar from Kerala for trials, but Ayush outperformed them. His favorite cricketer is Rohit Sharma, and his batting style reflects Rohit’s influence.
Who is Ayush Mahatme?
Ayush Mahatme was born in July 2007, just a few months before India won the first T20 World Cup under MS Dhoni’s leadership. He was born in Virar, a suburb of Mumbai. To receive cricket training, he would travel 80 km daily. His uncle Lakshmikant Nayak (JJ) played a major role in his cricket journey.
Every morning, JJ would wake Ayush up and take him to coaching and school. Ayush said, “My family always told JJ not to disturb my sleep, but now they understand the importance of my hard work. Despite financial struggles, my father fulfilled all my needs to help me chase my cricketing dreams.”
Ayush started playing cricket at the age of 6, but didn’t consider it a career until he turned 15. In December 2023, at the age of 17, he represented Mumbai in the Under-23 category for the first time. Within just 10 months, he made it to Mumbai’s senior team.
So far, Ayush has played 10 first-class matches and scored 504 runs, including two centuries in the Ranji Trophy. He also scored 458 runs in seven List A (50-over) matches for Mumbai, including two centuries, with a strike rate of 135.50 and an average of 65.42.
In December 2024, Ayush played an eye-catching innings of 181 runs off 117 balls in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Nagaland. He became the first cricketer in the world to score 150+ runs in a List A match at such a young age.
In the Under-19 Asia Cup, he represented India, scoring 176 runs in 5 matches.
