Talented youngster Ayush Mhatre is the latest in the list who have impressed on IPL debut as well. Coming to bat at No. 3 for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium, 17-year-old Mhatre – also on his T20 debut, scored 17 runs off the first four balls he faced, hitting two sixes and a four as well. And, his knock impressed everyone, including Aaron Finch and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Aaron Finch, who was wowed by his “statement” innings, said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut, “I think the shot down the ground [off his second ball] was extraordinary. That was nowhere near a half-volley, but he smacked it on the up through mid-off, [and then] he set up for the pull shot. Obviously looks like a very leg-side-dominant player just [going by] the way that he sets up, everything says that he wants to hit square on the leg side. There’ll be a few things for oppositions [to note] going forward but what a statement.”

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“Days are gone by [when] you walk into bat in your first game and you think, ‘how can I get another game, how can I get myself into a position to get picked next game’, and you get 30 off 25 and you go ‘I’ve actually done a pretty good job for myself’,” Finch again said. “But these kids now [say], ‘you know what will get me another game – hitting three or four sixes’. Then you become an Impact Player. And you can put it on reels and it can go viral. That’s what the new generation is all about.”

However, Ayush Mhatre did well during his 15-ball knock, Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2025, Mumbai, April 20, 2025. For Cheteshwar Pujara, it was his “fearless” approach that stood out despite not having played much top-flight cricket as well.

“If you are not well-prepared and you are nervous when playing your first game, you don’t get that confidence,” Pujara said on TimeOut. “But to do that – we say they are fearless but it’s not easy to be fearless when you’re playing your first-ever T20 game, that too at the highest level. To do that, I’m sure he’s done enough preparation. I haven’t seen his journey so far, I don’t know much about it, but the way he batted he seemed very confident. He’s played a lot of cricket in Mumbai and that’s definitely helped him.”