Ayush Badoni- The making of the Rising star

One unknown face became an overnight sensation during Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans clash. 

22-year-old Ayush Badoni made a statement debut against the Gujarat Titans by playing a crucial knock of 41-ball 54. He played his first T20 match to represent Delhi in Syed Mushtaq Ali's trophy in 2020-21. 

Ayush Badoni is a ward of the Delhi Sonnet Club, which produced some famous cricketers such as Shikhar Dhawan, Ashish Nehra and Nitish Rana. It is said that the Sonnet players get special treatment on the Delhi side, but Badoni had no such privileges. He had to wait for years to have his moment under the sun.

In a Youth Test match against Sri Lanka during his U-19 days in 2018, he scored massive 185-runs in just 202 balls. Apart from his batting skills, he displayed his spins by striking six wickets in that series. In the under-19 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, he amassed 52 runs off 28 balls, including two fours and five massive sixes. Despite his such powerful performances, the young talent got to play only five-T20s.

"I did not get a chance for Delhi. I enhanced my game, tried new shots, and learned new shots, which helped me in T20 cricket. My name had been coming up [in IPL auctions] for three years, but I went unsold. When my name cropped up [at the latest auction], my heart was racing," Badoni said to the media, as quoted by MSN.com.

However, better late than never, he got an opportunity to play for Lucknow Super Giants in their opening match after the franchise picked him for INR 20 lakhs in mega auctions. Before this, he was in trials and remained unsold in auction for 3 years. He made the most of the opportunity by taking over the match when the team was in a critical situation. He came as a surprise package to smash 38-ball 54. Interestingly these runs came against world-class bowlers such as Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson and Hardik Pandya. His innings contributed to giving the match an exciting and competitive turn.

He owed his game and opportunity to Lucknow Super Giants' mentor Gautam Gambhir who supported him and picked him up in the auctions. And Ayush Badoni did justice to the mentor's decision by giving a spell-bounding performance in the first match. He owned his innings with the fearless game coming from his young age and understanding of the game. He displayed maturity as well as fearlessness in the match. He smashed a show-stealing six to Lockie Ferguson above his head, who bowled above 140kmph.

"Gautam bhaiya backed me. He just advised me to play the ball, not the bowler. That gave me a lot of confidence. He asked me to play my natural game, stressing that the senior players would handle the match situation. Thus, I could play freely," he added.

After seeing his magical batting flexes in the first match, he will continuously be under the scanner of fans and other teams. His first match performance makes him look like a promising player for the future. If he continues to play like this consistently, undoubtedly, he will get a maiden call for team India like other young talents.