'Lots of learning...' - Young Ayush Mhatre sends heartfelt message to Rohit Sharma after his Ranji Trophy exclusion

After being left out of the Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai's 17-year-old star, Ayush Mhatre, wrote a heartfelt note to his idol, Rohit Sharma. The India Test captain played his first Ranji match since 2015, opening alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in Mumbai's Elite Group A match.

Ayush Mhatre, who has scored 441 runs in five games at an average of 40.09, took to social media to express his happiness at the opportunity to share the dressing room with Rohit Sharma."Started playing cricket by watching him bat on television to sharing a dressing room with my idol was such an unreal moment. Lots of learning to take forward," he posted on his social media account.

Ayush Mhatre meets his idol, Rohit Sharma.

- Ro, an inspiration to Youngsters 👌 pic.twitter.com/EhuUQZmx9L

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 24, 2025

Who is Ayush Mhatre? 

In October of last year, Mhatre made his first-class debut for Mumbai, scoring two hundred and fifty, including a triple hundred, to establish himself. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Mhatre was in incredible form, amassing 458 runs at a strike rate of 135.50 and an average of 65.42. He scored 148 against Saurashtra on January 5 after hitting 181 against Nagaland on December 31. However, when the Ranji Trophy resumed after the white-ball domestic cricket break, the youngster had to make way for the India skipper.

Mumbai looking to bounce back in the game against Jammu and Kashmir

In the Ranji Trophy, Rohit struggled at bat, scoring just 3 and 28 against Jammu and Kashmir, leading supporters to wonder why Mhatre wasn't included. Despite the setback, Mhatre is still committed to improving his abilities. The teenager broke Jaiswal's record and became the youngest player to score 150+ in a List A match, making history.

Mumbai’s Ranji had many star players like Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Sahrdul Thakur, and Shivam Dube, but besides these established names, the team is also developing emerging talents like Mhatre.

Meanwhile, the big names failed to score runs but Shardul Thakur came to rescue the Mumbai team with a century in the second innings. At Day 2 stumps, Mumbai scored 274 runs and lost seven wickets, leading by 188 runs. Shardul Thakur steadied the sinking ship with his century and remains unbeaten on 113 runs, supported by Kotian, who is not out on 58.