"He told me that I will get a long rope and not just a few matches here and there" - Ayush Badoni repays Gautam Gambhir's faith

Ayush Badoni has lived up to IPL’s age-old "Where talent meets opportunity" motto. He has always had the talent. He just needed the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to give him an opportunity to showcase it.

The 22-year-old came into his maiden IPL season on the back of just a single T20 knock. After not getting to bat in the first four league matches of the 2020/21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Delhi asked him to open against Puducherry. But Badoni returned to the shed after a timid 8 off 11 balls.

He got the opportunity to bat in his first-ever IPL match, though. But the moment of truth couldn't have come at a worse time. In a sensational spell of fast bowling, Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Mohammed Shami – 3 for 10 in his first 3 overs –reduced LSG to 29 for 4 inside the powerplay. In walked the diminutive right-hander, ahead of the experienced Krunal Pandya.

“I got to play just one season for Delhi. And out of those five matches, I got to bat in just one game and I had gotten out even in that. But after I was picked by Lucknow, we played practice matches and I had scores of fifty-plus in two of those. That impressed Gautam [Gambhir] bhaiya and the coaches – Vijay [Dahiya] sir and Andy Flower – and hence they were confident of sending me before Krunal Pandya,” Badoni revealed at the post-match press conference.

Badoni slowed down the game, which was exactly what LSG needed at that point. He nudged a few balls for singles while blocking the majority of the deliveries. Among those were the fastest ball of the match – a 150.8 kmph thunderbolt from Lockie Ferguson – and some wily stuff from Rashid Khan.

His first 22 balls fetched just 13 runs without a single boundary. To put that into context, Hooda had already reached his fifty and LSG recovered to 90 for 4 with six overs left. Hardik Pandya came running in for his fourth over and saw 14 runs being plundered off the first three balls. Badoni slog-swept the first one over cow corner, lapped the second over short fine leg, and then opened the bat face to run one down to the third man fence. There was no looking back since.

After his 87-run alliance with Hooda (55 off 41) ended, Badoni continued on his merry way to forge another crucial 40-run stand with Krunal Pandya. The Delhi lad reached his fifty off 38 balls, pulling Ferguson with panache for a gigantic six. In a matter of 16 deliveries, he traversed the journey from having people raise their eyebrows at him to them Googling his name. He walked off to a standing ovation from the 25 percent Wankhede crowd after amassing 54 off 41 balls with four boundaries and three sixes to boot. The KL Rahul-led side finished on 158 for 6 as 68 runs came off the last six overs.

Ayush Badoni heaped praise on fellow Delhiite and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir for instilling confidence in him. The former IPL winning-captain has not only given Badoni a sense of security by assuring him of a long rope but has also taken pressure off him by asking not to pay any heed to match situations.

“Gautam bhaiya has backed me a lot. He has just told me one thing, to play my natural game, to play the ball and not the bowler. That gave me a lot of confidence. He told me that I will get a long rope and not just a few matches here and there. He even told me not to worry about the situation and just play my natural game while the senior players would take care of the situation. That helped me to play a bit freely,” Ayush Badoni elaborated.

Even though LSG have lost their debut game with just two balls remaining, the fact that their Indian core came good would hold them in good stead for the remainder of the league.

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Fourth time lucky for Ayush Badoni

The youngster playing the scoop shot against GT captain Hardik Pandya [Credits: IPL]

Ayush Badoni first made the headlines during the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup back in 2018. He smashed 52 off 28 balls, which helped the Indian colts beat their Sri Lankan counterparts by a whopping margin of 144 runs.

However, he couldn’t make the cut for that year’s Under-19 World Cup in South Africa. Nor was he pitchforked into Delhi’s senior team. Additionally, he went unsold at three IPL auctions.

There was hope of getting picked at this mega auction. But having learnt how big a mood dampener hope can be, Badoni kept expectations aside when the 10 IPL teams sat with their paddles in February this year.

“My name had been coming for three consecutive years and I was going unsold every time. This time, as my name was coming, my heart rate was going on increasing. But I had no idea If I'd be picked. I had attended trials of 2-3 teams, but that was happening for three years. So I had no idea about my selection. Lucknow eventually picked me and I am very grateful. I have to perform now. I'll make my team win. I'll try my best,” he said in response to a Sportskeeda query.

Now that he’s made the most of his opportunity, by the time the next IPL auction comes around, Ayush Badoni’s talent will be worth way more than the INR 20 lakh LSG paid for him this time.