Kamal Ghorui
CHENNAI : The new generation of top-order batters, with their audacious approach, have lately been hogging the limelight in the IPL. While 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has emerged as the poster boy of this Gen Z crop, he is not a lone ranger. Two more young willow wielders are coming into the frame as serious contenders for bigger things in future.During Punjab Kings’ fivewicket win over Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday, it was the tale of two young guns — Priyansh Arya and Ayush Mhatre. While the 18-year-old Mhatre, with his clever strokeplay, powered CSK to 209 with a 43-ball 73, the 24-year-old Arya launched PBKS’s chase in style. The opener’s whirlwind 39 off just 11 balls, at a staggering strike rate of 354.5, took the game out of CSK’s hands early. Both made their debut last year and enjoyed breakout seasons. Now, into their second IPL campaign, they’ve begun brightly and enough to catch the eye of former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who heaped praise on the “Gen Z players who put on a batting festivity”.“Both of them (Arya and Mhatre) batted brilliantly. The way these‘Gen Z’ batters played, they are changing our mindset. And I absolutely enjoyed seeing their batting. I also expect a lot more ‘Gen Z’ bowlers, I want more new bowlers to come up,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin, a former CSK stalwart, felt No.3 batter Mhatre’s knock and the shots he played was the silver lining in the five-time champions’ defeat to PBKS, amid a season already strewn with early struggles for CSK.“The way Mhatre batted, this should be the happiest news and a big positive for CSK. For the next 10 years, they have found a champion player. CSK didn’t get him in the auction, they signed him as an injury replacement. He has shown what he can do, the way he played and pulled Marco Jansen for a boundary, it was amazing,” Ashwin added.Arya’s mental toughness aids PBKSDuring his onslaught against CSK, Arya operated with the freedom of knowing there was batting depth to back him up. Hence, he was swinging at everything that came his way with fearless intent and even perished while trying to hit big.Talking about his young teammate, Shashank Singh said it’s Arya’s “strong mentality” that sets him apart. “With Priyansh what we, as a team, really liked last year is that he’s mentally very tough. He knows his role. He knows the areas in which he can score runs. He’s very young but the way he’s matured regarding his batting is fantastic,” said Shashank.
