Ayush Badoni

A diminutive yet destructive right-handed batter from Delhi, Ayush Badoni’s story ranges from rejection to redemption. A versatile cricketer known primarily for his ability to score quickly, Badoni is also a handy off-spinner and a live-wire in the field making him, especially in T20 cricket, a complete package. A product of the famous Sonnet Cricket Club, a club that’s produced a host of fine international cricketers including most recently Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant, Badoni had a promising start to his career after breaking into India’s U-19 side having caught the eye of Rahul Dravid. He first made waves for his exploits with both bat and ball against the Sri Lankan U-19s. In the first 4-day game, Badoni spun a web around the Sri Lankan batsmen with an extraordinary spell of 9.3-2-24-4. He then reciprocated with the bat - bludgeoning 185 runs off 202 balls walking in at No.7.

However, performances didn’t convert into opportunities for the youngster and he spent years trying to break into Delhi’s side. Like it has for several others, it was the IPL that would give Badoni his big break. After going unsold for a couple of seasons, he was picked up by the LSG in 2022 with the backing of Gautam Gambhir. Badoni didn’t wait to make this opportunity count. In LSG’s opening and his debut game, Badoni came to the crease with his side in deep trouble at 29/4. He flexed his dynamic batting style en-route to a 41-ball 54 which helped convalesce the score up to 158. That’s when the world sat-up and took notice. “He's baby AB (de Villiers). He has been phenomenal from the first day. For a little boy, he packs a punch and plays 360 degrees” his skipper KL Rahul would say after the game.

Badoni’s career only went from strength to strength thereafter. Once struggling to break into the side, Badoni was captaining Delhi in the domestic circuit by 2024. Heading into the 2025 IPL season, Badoni was one of LSG’s five retentions and the uncapped Indian batter scored 329 runs at an average of 32.90 and a strike-rate of 148.19.