Chennai Super Kings surprised everyone and finally gave a chance to their youngest player to make his IPL debut. Mhatre, who was named as Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement, made his IPL debut against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday on April 20.
Hardik Pandya, winning the toss, opted to field first and invited Chennai to bat first. Announcing the playing XI, Hardik went with no changes in the squad, and MS Dhoni opted for a single change to their lineup, with Ayush Mhatre making his T20 debut.
Ayush Mhatre Announces His Arrival In Style
Chennai, who opened with Rachin Ravindra and Rasheed t was struggling to get a quick start in the match and that start was provided by Ayush Mhatre quick innings in the match.
The 17 year old debutant gave the team a much needed spark. Coming in early, Mhatre played a fearless knock scoring 32 runs off just 15 balls, hitting four boundaries and 2 sixes in his fiery debut innings. He helped shift the momentum with aggressive stroke play, including a powerful straight drive for four and back-to-back sixes – one pulled into the stands and another flicked effortlessly over mid-wicket.
Despite the promising start, Mhatre couldn’t go long and his innings was cut short when he mistimed a pull shot off Deepak Chahar’s delivery. Nevertheless, Mhatre’s quickfire cameo stood out and provided a glimpse of the young talent’s potential. At just 17 years and 278 days, he also became the youngest player to debut for CSK in the IPL
Youngest Debutants for Chennai Super Kings in IPL:
- 17y 278d – Ayush Mhatre vs MI, Wankhede, 2025*
- 18y 139d – Abhinav Mukund vs RR, Chennai, 2008
- 19y 123d – Ankit Rajpoot vs MI, Chennai, 2013
- 19y 148d – Matheesha Pathirana vs GT, Wankhede, 2022
- 20y 79d – Noor Ahmad vs MI, Chennai, 2025
MI vs CSK playing XI
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI: Shaik Rasheed, Rachin Ravindra, Ayush Mhatre, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Jamie Overton, MS Dhoni (c and wk), Noor Ahmad, Khaleel Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana
Mumbai Indians Playing XI: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwani Kumar
