Ayush Mhatre (born 16 July 2007) is an Indian cricketer and Captain of the India U19 Cricket team, who plays for Mumbai in domestic cricket and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Mhatre was born in a Marathi-speaking family on 16 July 2007. He hails from Nallasopara, a locality within Mumbai Suburban Area near Virar, Maharashtra. He took to the game when he was six, but it was at fifteen that he transitioned to thinking about professional cricket. To chase his dreams, he used to travel nearly 80 kilometers one way by train from Virar to Churchgate (next to Wankhede Stadium) for practice sessions.
Mhatre was part of the 2024 India U19 team and captained the 2025 squad, with the team finishing runners-up in the U19 Asia Cup in both editions.
Mhatre has been leading the Indian U19 team since July 2025. Under his captaincy, the India U19 team toured England, winning the Youth ODI series 3âÂÂ2. The team later toured Australia, where they won the Youth ODI series 3âÂÂ0 and secured a 2âÂÂ0 win in the Youth Test series.
Mhatre was appointed captain of the India squad for the 2026 U19 World Cup, where he led the team to a record-extending sixth title. He finished the tournament with a total of 214 runs across 7 matches, which included crucial half-centuries in the semi-final against Afghanistan and the final against England.
An opening batter, Mhatre made his first-class debut aged 17 for Mumbai in the 2024-25 Irani Cup. A few weeks later he scored his maiden first-class century (176) for Mumbai against Maharashtra in the 2024âÂÂ25 Ranji Trophy.
Mhatre became the youngest player to score 150+ runs in menâÂÂs List A cricket, surpassing the previous record set by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
In October, Mhatre got his first senior team call-up and was named in squad for South Africa A Tour of India 2025-26 for first multi-day FC match.
Mhatre went unsold at the 2025 IPL auction; he was called up by the Chennai Super Kings as replacement of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was injured mid-season. On 20 April 2025, Mhatre made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings against the Mumbai Indians. Coming in at number 3, he scored 32 off just 15 balls, which included 4 fours and 2 sixes, helping CSK overcome a slow powerplay start. He is the seventh youngest IPL player to play a match, at 17 years and 278 days. On 3 May 2025, he played a scintillating knock and scored 94 runs in 48 balls while chasing a daunting total of 214 against RCB, missing his first ever IPL century only by 6 runs.