17-Year-Old Ayush Mhatre Set to Replace Injured Ruturaj Gaikwad in Chennai Super Kings Squad

Cric News India IPL News 2025

April 14, 2025 0 79

Young Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre joins CSK

17-year-old Ayush Mhatre was named as Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement after the CSK captain was ruled out due to an elbow injury.

In a significant mid-season move, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have named Ayush Mhatre, a 17-year-old opener from Mumbai, as the replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been ruled out of IPL 2025 with an elbow fracture.

The decision was taken late on Saturday (April 13), with the five-time champions now placing their hopes on young Mhatre as they try to recover from a difficult season so far. The team is currently at the bottom of the points table, having managed just one win in six matches.

“He will join the squad in Mumbai in a couple of days,” a source close to CSK management told Cricbuzz. Mhatre, who went unsold at the IPL auction despite having a base price of INR 30 lakh, has been called to join the MS Dhoni-led team immediately. However, his official joining is expected to happen in a few days.

CSK are currently in Lucknow for their seventh match, scheduled at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium on Monday night. They next face Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 20.

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Before finalising Mhatre, CSK had invited a few other domestic players for trials in Chennai, including Urvil Patel from Gujarat and Salman Nizar from Kerala. Former India U-19 captain Prithvi Shaw, currently out of favour in the IPL circuit, was also considered, but the management opted for Mhatre as the replacement for their injured skipper.

The young Mumbai opener has earned praise in domestic cricket circles for his consistent performances. In just nine first-class matches, he has scored 504 runs, including two centuries and a half-century. In List A cricket, he has already scored 458 runs in seven matches, with two hundreds. He made his first-class debut in October last year and has been widely tipped as a future India prospect.

Mhatre’s selection comes at a crucial time for the Super Kings, who are searching for stability in their batting lineup and overall team balance as the tournament reaches its halfway stage and the team languishes at the bottom.