Fleming: Mhatre has 'everything that we like about a modern-day T20 player'

Ayush Mhatre is all of 17 years and 292 days, but already has the makings of a top-drawer T20 cricketer. He looks pleasing to the eye, has shots all around the park, and the power game required for a modern-day T20 batter. But what impressed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) head coach Stephen Fleming the most about Mhatre is the temperament and the composure he displayed at the trials and how he has backed it up at IPL 2025.

"He's got talent. He's got hand-eye coordination. He's got a beautiful, silky swing. He's aggressive. Everything that we like about a modern-day T20 player," Fleming said about Mhatre at the press conference after CSK lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on Saturday night. "But, to me, it's the temperament and being able to execute in a trial and then on the big stage. That's what I'm most impressed with.

"It's one thing to have a lot of shots, but to be able to execute that game plan on a big stage in front of some of the biggest players in the world is what I admire."

In a season where very little has gone CSK's way, Mhatre has been one of the few positives. He came into the team as a replacement for captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was ruled out five games into the season with an elbow injury. Mhatre's season debut was also his T20 debut, in the game against Mumbai Indians (MI). He scored a 15-ball 32 in his first match, followed by a 19-ball 30 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

On Saturday, he moved his game up a couple of gears and smashed a 48-ball 94 against RCB, becoming the third-youngest player to score a fifty in the IPL. While his innings did not result in a CSK win, it's ensured the franchise had a player for the future.

"It's sometimes hard to explain, but there's just a quality around what he was doing," Fleming said about Mhatre's selection as Gaikwad's replacement. "It's early days, but we have been very impressed with his skills right from when he trialled and was with us at the early part of the season.

"We have enjoyed a lot of the shot play from young players in this tournament and we're delighted that we've got one ourselves. So, yes, excited about the future for him."

Despite being with CSK only for the last month or so and despite his young age, Mhatre has fitted into the team well.

"We have a pretty relaxed camp, which has always been our style. He has some team-mates [from Mumbai] on the side. [Shivam] Dube, is one that has seen a fair bit of him," Fleming said. "Again, it comes back to his maturity. He fitted in seamlessly. It's often not what the team around him does, but it's just the way that he behaves.

"He was very comfortable right from day one and the team was very comfortable with him. Hopefully, it's the start of a long relationship."

In just this last week, IPL 2025 has had two teenagers rip into bowlers of international repute. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 14, had on Monday become the youngest centurion in men's T20s, while Mhatre fell six short of a century on Saturday. While being fearless is one thing, Fleming has been impressed by the skills that these teenagers possess, and also a little worried for some of the Under-19 opponents these two will come up against in the near future.

"It's amazing, really," Fleming said. "It's extraordinary to watch that fearless approach. But you've got to have skills as well. And to have the skills that these young players have and to be able to execute them against some of the best bowlers in the world is quite remarkable.

"It doesn't matter whether you're 14, 18, 21. The innings that we've seen being played, particularly by these two youngsters, is just top class. It shows maturity beyond their years, but it shows a skill set that is quite daunting, I think, particularly for bowlers around the world.

"I worry a little bit about the Under-19 opposition. They'll come up against two pretty handy openers when a World Cup comes around. But it's amazing how much talent and how composed they are."