Ayush Mhatre Names His Idol and It’s Not Who You Think

Ayush Mhatre has finally revealed who is his cricketing idol. While several fans expected the answer to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni, it is not what they had thought. Instead, Mhatre revealed a Mumbai player as his idol and with whom he wants to play.

Ayush Mhatre, the young Indian talent, has made it to the headlines this year. He has been able to perform for the team across different formats and is eager to get his maiden international game. Amidst all this, Mhatre also revealed who has been his biggest cricketing inspiration and with whom he wants to play the game.

Since Mhatre is a part of Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, several fans expected it to be the Captain Cool, MS Dhoni. But Ayush Mhatre seemed to have shocked the fans with his answer. He revealed that Rohit Sharma, the former Indian captain, is his idol, and he wants to open once in his career with the Hitman.

1. Ayush Mhatre Reveals His Idol

Ayush Mhatre is currently playing for India's Under-19 team in the Under-19 Asia Cup. This comes as a strong build-up for the team, as they will be soon playing in the Under-19 World Cup. Before the tournament began, Ayush Mhatre was present in a Press Conference where he talked about a number of things. He even talked about the contributions of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni in his career.

For Dhoni he said, “I enjoy captaincy, so it doesn’t pressure me. I trust my process and play to the merit of the ball. I just see the ball and hit the ball. He told me to be calm on the ground and not to make decisions in an aggressive mode.” It can be seen that playing with Dhoni in IPL 2025 has helped Ayush Mhatre to a great extent.

And taking a look at the pull shots which he plays, fans are also reminded of Rohit Sharma. Mhatre said, “I’ve grown up watching Rohit Sharma since childhood, he’s my idol. I talk to him and stay in touch with him, but I haven’t yet got the chance to play with him. If he comes to play for Mumbai, then my dream of batting with him might finally come true.”

2. Can Rohit and Ayush Open Together in VHT?

Rohit Sharma has made himself available for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This opens an opportunity for Ayush Mhatre to finally play with Rohit Sharma and open the team's innings with him. But the question still remains on how this will be happening, as Mumbai is having a stable batting line-up.

It should be noted that Ayush Mhatre was opening for Mumbai in the last edition. And even in the team's last match in the previous edition, he received the Player of the Match award for scoring 148 runs off 93 balls. With this, it can be said that Ayush Mhatre has proven himself to be a worthy opener for the team in this tournament.

This has also opened up ways for Ayush Mhatre to maintain his spot in the team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. And Rohit Sharma has also declared himself available for the tournament, as he will be playing it after a long time. It may be possible that we can see Rohit Sharma and Ayush Mhatre open for Mumbai in the tournament.

3. Ayush Mhatre in 2025

Ayush Mhatre has received several opportunities to play in 2025. And fortunately, the youngster has been able to prove himself in each and every game, taking the opportunity as it is. It all started when he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for the IPL 2025 edition. He came as an explosive opening batsman for the team in the tournament.

Along with that, fans still remember the innings he played against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Mhatre missed out on his century by just 6 runs, but his knock was enough to take Chennai close to the win. Later, he was selected in the India Under-19 team to play against England Under-19 in the Youth Tests.

This was also for the first time when Ayush Mhatre was set to play in England. And he was able to utilise the opportunity in the best way possible, as he finished the series as the highest run scorer. Mhatre ended up bringing two centuries and one half-century in the two matches which he played for the team.

While he has not been able to do well for India Under-19 in the Youth ODIs, he still remains eager to regain his form. Even the start of the Under-19 Asia Cup has not been good for Ayush Mhatre, as he got dismissed after scoring just 4 runs off 11 balls.