"Chubby boy at his best"- Ruturaj Gaikwad reacts as his 17-year-old replacement hits 2 sixes on debut in MI vs CSK IPL 2025 match

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) full-time skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad sent a message to youngster Ayush Mhatre after the batter's impressive knock on his IPL debut. The 17-year-old batter smashed two sixes and four fours during his entertaining 15-ball 32 against the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. He was dismissed caught off Deepak Chahar's bowling.

Ruturaj Gaikwad suffered an elbow fracture, which ruled him out of IPL 2025. This forced the Chennai Super Kings to bring in 17-year-old batter Ayush Mhatre as his replacement. Mhatre became the youngest player to play an IPL game for the Chennai Super Kings as the franchise handed him his debut for the match against the Mumbai Indians on Sunday, April 20.

Mhatre impressed straightaway by hitting four fours and two sixes in his first IPL innings. Reacting to the 17-year-old player's cameo, Gaikwad wrote on his Instagram story:

"Chubby boy at his best right at the start."

An X (formerly Twitter) user reshared the story from Gaikwad's account on his profile. The tweet has received over 3,000 likes, with fans praising Gaikwad for his kind words for Mhatre.

Will Ayush Mhatre ensure CSK do not miss Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order in IPL 2025?

Ruturaj Gaikwad was CSK's best batter in IPL 2025 before he got injured. He batted at number three and played some phenomenal knocks for the Chennai-based franchise. His injury forced CSK to bring in Rahul Tripathi at number three.

However, Tripathi could not get going and hence, CSK decided to bench him and include young Ayush Mhatre in the playing XI. Mhatre came in to bat at number three against the Mumbai Indians and scored 32 runs from 15 deliveries.

It will be interesting to see if the 17-year-old batter can perform consistently for the Chennai Super Kings.