CSK need Ayush Mhatre to bat in the powerplay.
Ayush Mhatre is not a bad spin player, but his pace game is way above. At No.3, he’s forced to face more spin than pace, that too with a spread field. That he has still managed to do reasonably well shows his quality, but CSK are not letting him play to his strength in the powerplay.
ALSO READ:
Last season, Mhatre faced only 17.32% spin balls, scoring at 131.81 and taking around 7.33 balls for every boundary. In IPL 2026, he has already faced 28.91% balls against spinners, striking at 145.83 and hitting a boundary every eight deliveries. Clearly, his spin game needs more refinement, which will obviously happen with time, but teams have had the opportunity to target him with tweakers straight away.
It’s not entirely his fault, either. He’s naturally an opener and possesses a stable base with brute power against pace, which helps him maximise field restrictions early on. But since Ruturaj Gaikwad has been opening, Mhatre has been forced to bat one slot below and outside the powerplay.
Meanwhile, Gaikwad has himself been below par in the powerplay, precisely the role Mhatre nailed last season. In IPL 2026, the CSK captain has struck at just 102.43 and played around 43.90% dot balls during the field restrictions. He has also been dismissed twice, both against pacers.
KKR have Sunil Narine and Anukul Roy in the spin department, while Varun Chakravarthy might also return to the XI after missing the last couple of games. Given their vulnerable pace attack, the Knight Riders will rely on spinners to do the job again. The decks in Chennai are not slow and spin-favouring anymore, and Varun’s form has also been poor, but Mhatre will again be tested due to the superior quality of KKR spinners.
The straighter lines have troubled Mhatre against spin, where he has scored at only 115.38 and played around 38.46% false shots in a small sample size. Narine and Varun are skilled enough to exploit it in the middle overs. Hence, the wise move would be to allow him to open the innings, with Gaikwad pushing himself to No.3.
KKR have the second-worst average (73.33) and economy rate (12.22) in the powerplay this season. Pacers have bowled 66.66% of those overs and conceded 12.75 runs per over. On a deck with true bounce, as has been the case in Chennai lately, Ayush Mhatre can maximise the powerplay against a shaky bowling unit.
Moreover, Gaikwad is better suited to handle spin in the middle overs, with proven credentials in the competition. Last season, when he played at No.3, he had a strike rate of just 103.22 and played around 58.06% dot balls in the first 10 balls. He took as many as 6.20 balls for every boundary.
However, after settling in, his strike rate shot up to 180, and dot balls reduced to just 24%. Additionally, his balls-per-boundary ratio came down to 3.84. A closer look explains his overall issues at the start of the innings.
In 2025, he could strike at just 103.33 and played around 60% dot balls against pace in the first 10 balls. The trend has continued this season: 96.87 strike rate, 8 BpB, & 46.87% dot balls. So, his pace game when new at the crease is a perennial issue, which means CSK will always end with a below-par powerplay score.
He should consider taking the No.3 slot, which would allow him to give Ayush Mhatre the opening slot. His superior spin game will also shield Mhatre from facing more spinners with more fielders on the ropes. It’s a straight swap, something worth considering at least against KKR.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
