‘Everything we like about…’: CSK coach Stephen Fleming praises Ayush Mhatre for his promising IPL career

CSK coach praised Ayush for his IPL outings

Ayush Mhatre was taken by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a replacement for Ruturaj Gaikwad, is just 17 years and 292 days old, but already looks to have a promising T20 career. He has ability to play stylish shot, and can hit the ball all around the stadium. Ayush’s batting is what defines a modern T20 batsman.

CSK head coach Stephen Fleming was quite impressed by Ayush’s calmness and maturity. These are the qualities which were seen in him during trials, and now also practically during the main Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match.

“He’s got talent. He’s got hand-eye coordination. He’s got a beautiful, silky swing. He’s aggressive. Everything that we like about a modern-day T20 player,” Fleming said about Mhatre at the post-match press conference, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

“But, to me, it’s the temperament and being able to execute in a trial and then on the big stage. That’s what I’m most impressed with,” he added.

“It’s one thing to have a lot of shots, but to be able to execute that game plan on a big stage in front of some of the biggest players in the world is what I admire,” he noted.

It has been a hard season for CSK this year, with Ayush Mhatre being one of the few good players. He came in the team as a replacement player for Ruturaj Gaikwad who was ruled out of the tournament due to an elbow injury. Mhatre marked not only marked his CSK debut, but also his T20 debut against Mumbai Indians (MI), where he scored 32 runs off 15 balls. Following his debut against MI, he appeared against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), where he scored 30 runs off 19 balls.

Then came his most iconic knock on May 3rd- where he scored 94 runs off 48 balls against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), marking him the third youngest player in history of IPL to score a half-century.