'Suryakumar appreciated; Rohit spoke to him. He will play for CSK for 10 years': Suresh Raina on 17-yr-old Ayush Mhatre

Ayush Mhatre’s impressive start to life in the IPL continued in his first home game at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for Chennai Super Kings. He scored a brisk 30(19) against Sunrisers Hyderabad to give the men in yellow a good start.

Mhatre was brought in to shore up the CSK top order. CSK’s terrible start to the season meant they turned to the 17-year-old as an injury replacement for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to try and give him a look in at this level.

Mhatre lived up to the billing with a couple of breezy cameos, first against the Mumbai Indians, then against SRH, building on an impressive start to his senior domestic career for Mumbai.

CSK legend and IPL icon Suresh Raina was full of praise for Mhatre, comparing his attacking instinct and free-swinging nature to one of India’s finest opening batters, Virender Sehwag.

Speaking on the commentary broadcast for JioHotstar, Raina explained: “Look at his feet, look at his head position. I remember Viru bhai (Virender Sehwag) had a very similar setup, where his head used to be very good.”

Suryakumar, Rohit in awe of Ayush Mhatre

Mhatre got an opportunity in the IPL after an impressive Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign for Mumbai, in which he scored 458 runs in 7 innings, with two centuries at an impressive strike rate of 135.

Mhatre’s inclusion as a 17-year-old in a team as powerful as Mumbai is an indication of his standing within the youth ranks, and also meant he shared a dressing room with players such as Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer. Raina highlighted the Mumbai connection as a promise of his quality for years to come.

“Suryakumar Yadav appreciated him when he made runs at the Wankhede Stadium, then Rohit Sharma also spoke to him after that,” said Raina, referencing a clip that made the rounds on social media of Rohit congratulating Mhatre.

“This player is going to play for at least 10 years for CSK,” predicted Raina. “He showed us in the last match, try out Mhatre, you will get absolutely loyal and royal batting.”

Despite Mhatre providing a strong start to CSK, his wicket meant SRH took three wickets in the powerplay, once again leaving CSK in a difficult situation with the bat in what has been a season to forget for the five-time IPL champions thus far.