Big news from the CSK camp: they’re bringing in a 17-year-old opener from Mumbai, Ayush Mhatre, to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ayush has been making waves in junior cricket and domestic matches, and CSK has had its eye on him since the IPL auction. According to Cricbuzz, he officially signed his first IPL contract on April 13.

Originally, he went unsold at the auction with a base price of 30 Lakhs, but there were discussions about CSK potentially bidding for him. He’s set to join the five-time champions in Mumbai and will be ready for their match against MI on April 20.

With Ayush stepping in for Ruturaj, it looks like Prithvi Shaw, who was a strong candidate to take over, will miss out. Shaw’s hard-hitting style was thought to be a perfect fit for CSK, especially with their struggles in IPL 2025, but the team has opted for a young talent who knows how to score quickly.

So, who is Ayush Mhatre? He’s a right-handed opener who can also bowl off-spin. He had a great showing in the U19 Asia Cup 2024, scoring 176 runs in five innings with a strike rate of 135.28 and an average of 44. While he hasn’t made his T20 debut for the senior Mumbai team yet, he’s been playing first-class and List A cricket. In 16 first-class innings, he’s scored 504 runs, with two centuries and one fifty, and he has an impressive average of 65.42 from seven List A matches.

With such consistency at a young age, CSK fans are hoping Ayush can help turn things around for the team in IPL 2025.