Chennai Super Kings have picked young Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre as their replacement player. He’s set to come in for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who is out for the rest of the season with an elbow fracture. CSK, who are having a tough IPL 2025 so far and are currently at the bottom of the points table, are hoping Ayush can help turn things around. According to a Cricbuzz report, the decision was made late on Saturday, April 13.
Although Ayush Mhatre has been asked to join the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings immediately, he won’t be able to link up with the team for a few more days. Mhatre went unsold at the auction earlier this year, despite having a base price of ₹30 lakh.
"He will join the squad in Mumbai in a couple of days," a source close to CSK management told Cricbuzz. " The CSK team is currently in Lucknow for their seventh game, which will be played at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Monday night. Currently CSK have one win and two points, having suffered five losses on the trot. They play Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on April 20 at the Wankhede."
Mumbai’s Teenage Sensation Ayush Mhatre Replaces Injured Ruturaj for CSK
CSK's decision to go with Ayush Mhatre came after inviting him, along with a few others like Salman Nizar from Uttar Pradesh and Urvil Patel from Gujarat, for tryouts in Chennai. While Prithvi Shaw was also considered as a possible replacement, the team eventually chose the young Mumbai talent to step in for the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad.
The 17-year-old Mhatre is highly regarded in Mumbai’s cricket circles. He has already made a mark in domestic cricket, scoring 504 runs in nine first-class matches with two centuries and a fifty. In List A cricket, he has 458 runs in seven games including two hundreds. Since making his first-class debut in October last year, many Mumbai cricket experts believe he has the potential to play for India in the future.
Who is Ayush Mhatre?
Ayush Mhatre is a rising teenage batting star from Mumbai who made a strong impression in the 2024–25 domestic season. The young right-handed batter turned heads with his consistent performances in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Ranji Trophy. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 458 runs in just seven matches at an impressive average of 65.42, including two centuries and a fifty.
In the Ranji Trophy, he followed that up with 471 runs in eight games, averaging 33.64, with two hundreds and a fifty. His standout knock came against Maharashtra, where he scored a brilliant 176, showing his ability to play big innings under pressure. Thanks to these strong performances, Mhatre has drawn the attention of Chennai Super Kings top management and talent scouts, leading to his selection as the replacement for the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad in IPL 2025.
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