CSK name 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre as Ruturaj Gaikwad’s replacement — who is he?

Chennai Super Kings have finally announced a replacement for the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad, selecting Mumbai opener Ayush Mhatre. Notably, CSK skipper Gaikwad had been ruled out of the cash-rich league after suffering an elbow fracture.

According to a Cricbuzz report, the decision to pick Mhatre as Gaikwad's replacement was taken on Saturday (April 13) and the young batsman was asked to join the side immediately, but Mhatre will only be able to join the five-time IPL champions in a few days' time.

Mhatre, with a base price of ₹30 lakh, had remained unsold during the IPL 2025 mega auctions but with Gaikwad's injury, new opportunities have opened up for the young batsman.

CSK are currently in Lucknow where they will play their next match against Lucknow Super Giants today. Their next match will be against Mumbai Indians in Mumbai on 20 April, where they are expected to take advantage of Mhatre's facilities.

The MS Dhoni-led franchise decided to pick Mhatre after calling the youngster for trials along with a couple of other talents like Urvil Patel and Salman Nizar. Reportedly, Prithvi Shaw was also in the running to replace Gaikwad, but Mhatre eventually beat off the competition.

Who is Ayush Mhatre?

Ayush Mhatre made his domestic debut in the Irani Trophy last October. Mhatre opened the innings with Prithvi Shaw and scored 19 runs. Mhatre made way for Rohit Sharma when the Indian captain played in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir.

But the 17-year-old is no slouch and is highly regarded in the Mumbai cricketing circuit. Since his debut, Mhatre has scored 504 runs with two centuries and a half-century in nine first-class matches. In the seven List A matches played so far, Mhatre has scored 458 runs with two hundreds.

Apart from his batting, Mhatre has also taken 7 wickets in domestic cricket, including that of destructive opener Abhishek Sharma.