Indian first-class cricket player Ayush Mhatre competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai. He was born in Virar, and his hometown is Nalasopara, which falls under the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra. He began playing cricket at the age of 6, but considered it a career from 15. Thereafter, his journey began. He used to travel from Virar to Churchgate one way by train, which was approximately estimated to 80 kilometres, to fulfil his dreams.
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Education
Ayush Mhatre started his education at Mumbai’s St. Joseph’s High School. However, to practice cricket, he kept changing schools. Thus, after St. Joseph’s High School, he began studying at the Don Bosco School. After the 5th, he switched to the Rizvi Springfield school. They allowed him to homeschool, which helped in Ayush Mhatre cricket career.
But he discovered that this arrangement had an impact on his academic achievement. Thus, he finally enrolled at IES VN Sule Guruji School in an attempt to balance his schoolwork and athletics due to their better cricket team. His maternal grandfather, Laxmikant Naik, and his parents would regularly go with him from Virar to Matunga and Bandra so he could appear in the matches.
Ayush Mhatre Cricket Career
Ayush Mhatre’s cricket career once included a vision to play cricket for India in the U-19 World Cup. But last year, he faced a turning point that challenged his goals, leaving the CSK demotivated.
Due to his poor performance in the inter-camp matches last year, Ayush was not selected among the top 30 NCA players. At that time, he was in a very depressed state of mind. Reportedly, his coach began by improving his technique, which gave him more self-assurance. By giving him a goal of 300 runs in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, he significantly contributed to Ayush Mhatre cricket career.
Ayush put in a lot of effort during that time, attending two practice sessions a day in addition to travelling to other locations in Mumbai for games. After being called up for a local competition named KACA, he scored well and never turned back. Ayush Mhatre was much more motivated to score. He scored 51 runs in the KACA’s opening game, but thought that he could have scored 100. He could have been satisfied with the half-century, but he didn’t, and that’s how his coach realised that he had truly grown as a cricket player. It was a journey from Ayush, a cricket aspirant, to a well-known Ayush Cricketer.
Ayush Mhatre, an opening batsman, performed well in the KACA and got selected for the Irani Trophy at 17. A few weeks later, during the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy against Maharashtra, he gained 176 for Mumbai. Ayush Mhatre broke the previous record set by Yashasvi Jaiswal and became the youngest player to score 150+ runs in men’s List A cricket.
He made his IPL debut for the Chennai Super Kings on April 20, 2025. He came in at number 3 and helped CSK overcome a poor powerplay start by scoring 32 off just 15 balls, including 4 fours and 2 sixes. At 17 years and 278 days, he is the seventh youngest player in the IPL to ever play a match.
Ayush Mhatre IPL Debut at 17
There was a surge of interest in the 17-year-old batsman Ayush Mhatre when he entered the game against MI in the CSK Indian Premier League 2025 at number three. Given the team’s tendency for seasoned players, Ayush Mhatre IPL debut garnered notice, as he became the youngest cricketer to ever represent CSK.
What Makes Him So Unique?
So, “What makes him so unique?” fans questioned. Even though fans of Mumbai cricket would have known about his ability, Mhatre’s performance at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai gave the whole public proof of his ability. The home crowd was amazed by the 17-year-old’s exhibition of courage as he got 32 runs off 15 balls. He hammered runs for fun, seemingly able to reach every delivery.
The Mumbai U-19 cricket team’s current coach, Dinesh Lad, who coached Rohit and Shardul Thakur as children, praised the CSK batsman’s bravery. Similar to Rohit, he has confidence and optimism, which was evident in his knock against MI. When he was fifteen, Rohit played similarly to how Ayush does now, according to the coach.
Further, the coach also added that when they first met, Ayush Mhatre was ten years old, and he could see his talent and flowing stroke play. Even back then, even though he was travelling from Nalasopara, which is quite distant from Mumbai, he was quite alert about arriving on time. An additional element that Ayush’s desire for great runs is evident, and it has contributed to his quick development.
Conclusion
The journey of the Ayush Mhatre cricket player consists of efforts, dedication and support from his family and coaches. The batsman has found that the support of some key people has been the one constant in his life during these unpredictable times. This was all needed for his journey in the sport. It’s not that Ayush Mhatre IPL journey did not include failure, but he stood up again and proved that failures are a part of victory and set an example of how one should never compromise with determination.
