IPL 2026: Sunil Gavaskar Praises Next Gen 'Arya & Mhatre' For Fearless Batting Approach

New Delhi: Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and Cheteshwar Pujara heaped praise on young batters Ayush Mhatre and Priyansh Arya for fearless batting approach and not dwelling on the past.

Priyansh Arya ignited the chase with an impressive start, setting the tone for Punjab Kings’ pursuit of 210 against Chennai Super Kings. Brought in as a substitute, Arya made his intentions clear. He attacked Khaleel Ahmed right from the beginning. A sharp, straight drive for four, followed by a powerful six over midwicket, marked his entrance. While Khaleel managed some movement against Prabhsimran Singh, he still gave away 14 runs in the first over.

There was no break in the second over as Arya attacked Matt Henry, hitting 4, 6, and 4 to reach 25 off just six balls. By the time PBKS scored their fifty in an incredible 3.2 overs, Arya had already piled up 27 off eight balls, easily finding the boundary. This was a bold, modern T20 strategy. Seeing a target of over 200, he went all out in the power play to take control of the chase. His 39 off 11 at a strike rate of 355 may not have been a match-winning innings by itself, but it clearly represented the role of an aggressive opener today: deal maximum damage early and establish a platform.

“Priyansh Arya is picking the length very early. On that pitch, whenever the ball was slightly short, he didn’t miss out and often hit it for six. We saw that against bowlers like Matt Henry and Khaleel Ahmed, he is not missing the fuller deliveries either, which means the margin for error for bowlers becomes very small. He is strong on the leg side but also comfortable on the off side, and that makes him a very difficult batter to bowl to,” Cheteshwar Pujara told ‘JioStar’.

Sunil Gavaskar reflected on CSK's struggles in the bowling department, saying, “From what we’ve seen so far, CSK’s biggest concern for the rest of the tournament will be their bowling. It means they may have to consistently score around 225–230 to give their bowlers a chance. Most teams now have significant batting depth, like we saw with Punjab Kings where Marcus Stoinis came in at No. 7 and struck the ball cleanly with proper cricketing shots. With many sides batting deep, Chennai will need to get their bowling in order.”

For CSK, Mhatre set up the target with sensation batting show, scoring 73 off 43 deliveries. On Mhatre's best-suited batting position and mindset of the fearless prodigies, Gavaskar said, “I believe Number 3 is a good position for Ayush Mhatre. He has batted lower down the order in the Under-19 setup, but three could suit him well. He was dismissed first ball in the previous game but showed no signs of being affected by it. That’s the beauty of the 'Gen Next' mindset, they don’t dwell too much on the past and focus on the present. It’s a fantastic attitude.”

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