Stephen Fleming, the head coach of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), expressed his admiration for Ayush Mhatre’s shot selection and composure during the Indian Premier League 2025. Despite CSK’s defeat by two runs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, Mhatre stole the show with a stunning performance.
At 17 years and 291 days, Mhatre became the third-youngest player to score a half-century in the history of the Indian Premier League. He took 25 deliveries to reach the milestone. Overall, he managed 94 runs off 48 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and five sixes, before being dismissed by Lungi Ngidi.
“He’s got talent and his hand-eye coordination is of top-class. He plays with intent, aggression, and has all the quality of a modern-day T20 cricketer. But what impressed me the most is his mindset and ability to perform under pressure,” Fleming said.
“It’s one thing to have a wide range of shots, but sticking to a game plan and executing it in front of some of the biggest players in the world is what I admire about him,” he added.
After captain Ruturaj Gaikwad was ruled out of the season, Ayush Mhatre was added to the Chennai Super Kings team.
“Our environment has always been pretty laid-back, and he adapted to it very naturally. Some familiar faces from Mumbai, like Shivam Dube, knew about him. But again, it’s less about what’s happening around him and more about how he carries himself. Maturity is what helped him fit in so well,” Fleming concluded.
Mhatre has played four games, scoring 163 runs at an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 185. 22.