Ayush Mhatre: Snubbed by CSK, Mumbai batter hits blazing fifty in U-19 Asia Cup

Ayush Mhatre: Snubbed by CSK, Mumbai batter hits blazing fifty in U-19 Asia Cup

New Delhi: India couldn’t have asked for a better opponent than Japan to get their U-19 Asia Cup campaign back on track after suffering a damaging loss against Pakistan in the opener. The Boys in Blue are taking on Japan – one of the minnow teams in world cricket – in the second match of their campaign at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah.

Put into bat first in sunny conditions, India got off to a brilliant start thanks to the opening duo of Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The young superstar openers forged a quickfire 65-run stand for the first wicket off just 44 balls to give India the perfect start. Suryvanshi, 13, bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.10 crore at the IPL auction, was the batter to be dismissed. Suryanshi, IPL’s youngest crorepati, was dismissed for 1 in the opener against Pakistan but played some good strokes during his brief stay.

Meanwhile, Ayush continued to play freely and reached his fifty with a brilliant six.

Captain 🆒 Amaan reaches 5️⃣0️⃣!

Can the No. 7️⃣ push for a century? 🏏

Watch #INDvJPN at the #ACCMensU19AsiaCup, LIVE NOW on #SonyLIV! pic.twitter.com/RHpHF18osq

— Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) December 2, 2024

Rejected by CSK despite impressing Dhoni, Mhatre shines against Japan

Mhatre played a blazing knock of 54 off 29 balls studded with six fours and four sixes.  The young Mumbai batter was in the news before the IPL 2025 mega-auction after being called for a trial with five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

According to reports, Mhatre impressed legendary cricketer MS Dhoni, who advised the franchise to take a closer look at him. However, Mhatre went unsold in the mega-auction as neither CSK nor any other franchise showed interest in him.

Besides, Mhatre, skipper Mohamed Amaan and KP Karthikeya shone for the Boys in Blue. While Amaan played a captain’s knock and scored a sensational hundred, Karthikeya smashed 57 off 50 balls.

 U-19 Asia Cup 2024: Ayush Mhatre, who was called up by Chennai Super Kings for trials but was not picked at IPL Auctions, smashed a blazing half-century against Japan.  Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today