When Gujarat Titans reduced Lucknow Super Giants to 29/4 in the 5th over of their innings on Monday (March 28), Ayush Badoni walked out to bat. Not many knew then the impact he would go on to make in the game. The youngster struggled at the start to such an extent that he could only […]
When Gujarat Titans reduced Lucknow Super Giants to 29/4 in the 5th over of their innings on Monday (March 28), Ayush Badoni walked out to bat. Not many knew then the impact he would go on to make in the game. The youngster struggled at the start to such an extent that he could only hit his first boundary in the 15th over of the innings.
But once he got going, the fans and the commentators were in his awe. It was clean hitting from Badoni and in no time, he had crossed the 50-run mark. He scored 54 off 41 deliveries with four fours and three sixes. The 22-year-old has fought his own battle coming to this level and it hasn’t been easy for him.
Opportunities were very much limited for the youngster despite being extremely talented. Though he missed out on making it to the Under-19 World Cup squad in 2018, then coach of the colts Rahul Dravid had identified a star in him asking Atul Wassan, the chairman of the Cricket Advisory Committee of DDCA, to take good care of the talented cricketer.
However, the Delhi selectors ignored Ayush and picked Unmukt Chand above him. “They, instead, picked Unmukt Chand. I walked out of the meeting. As a CAC chairman, I could interfere but I chose not to, in the selectors’ jurisdiction,” Wassan said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
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Ayush Badoni also attended Mumbai Indians trials to no avail having not played a game for Delhi until then. He used to make it to the probable 30 but wouldn’t make it to the final squad. He finally got a chance during the 2020-21 season in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in five games but got to bat in only a solitary innings where he scored 8 runs.
However, LSG did their scouting well it seems as they were convinced with Badoni’s talent and decided to go for him at the mega auction. The man got an opportunity to showcase his talent in the very first game and, famous as ‘Baby AB’ in the LSG camp, Badoni didn’t disappoint. It is said in Delhi Cricket that Ayush has three shots for evey ball and he showed his range in the team’s opening game itself to earn a special praise from his skipper KL Rahul.
“He’s baby AB. He has been phenomenal from the first day. For a little boy, he packs a punch and plays 360 degrees, so happy for him as he grabbed the opportunity. It was not ideal for him to walk out with us four down but he did well under pressure and hopefully, he can continue doing that,” Rahul said after the match.
Now that he has gotten off to a perfect start in his IPL career, Ayush Badoni will be hoping to make it a huge season for him and thereby open the doors for more opportunities at the highest level.
