IPL 2023 Retention: Lucknow Super Giants to RETAIN Ayush Badoni after SMAT 2022 exploits, Gautam Gambhir to groom the 'future prospect'

IPL 2023 Retention: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are set to retain prominisg youngster Ayush Badoni for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. As per IPL scout and India U-19 star Tanmay Srivastava, the Indian domestic-player heavy franchise, will continue to groom the Delhi player under the watchful eyes of mentor Gautam Gambhir as their ‘future prospect’. Follow IPL 2023 Retention LIVE & IPL 2023 LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.

“(Gautam) Gambhir will back the player. If he likes someone, he will go for him 100 per cent. And that can help him better for the future,” Srivastava told InsideSport.

Never underestimate the young guns! We’re all waiting to watch Ayush Badoni perform like a boss🙌

Welcome aboard, Ayush💪🔥#AyushBadoni #YoungGuns #LucknowSuperGiants #TATAIPL pic.twitter.com/W84bClwYdV

— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) March 12, 2022

However, the questions around Badoni’s consistency still remains. The 22-year-old hogged the limelight in the previous edition of the lucrative tournament by notching up a half-century on his debut and playing knocks of an unbeaten 19, 19 and 10 not out in his latter innings. But he finished the IPL 2022 with a below-par average of 20.13 from 11 innings.

The Delhi middle-order batter’s intent, meanwhile, looked solid in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022 as a finisher which helped the side reach the quarter-final. Delhi had lost by one run to Vidarbha in the final eight round.

Ayush Badoni’s last 5 domestic appearances:

11 vs Vidarbha
14* vs Tripura
20* vs Goa
23 vs Hyderabad
32* vs Puducherry

FORMAT	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Ct	St
T20	26	19	6	294	54	22.61	226	130.08	0	1	20	12	13	0

IPL 2023 Retention: Lucknow Super Giants to RETAIN Ayush Badoni after promising DOMESTIC RUN, Gautam Gambhir to groom the ‘future prospect’ – Check DETAILS

Also Read: T20 WC Closing Ceremony: 13-year-old Indian origin SINGER, Iva Davies bring MCG to life before T20 World Cup Final: CHECK Highlights

Srivastava, the former Uttar Pradesh opener, however was of the opinion that Badoni needs to shuffle down and pick the ball bowled outside the off stump. But his ability to ball off-spin in the middle overs along with his fielding efficiency only makes his case stronger to be retained by the franchise.

“LSG will look to back the player. If they get into chop and change, the player will never feel confident, especially for a youngster like him. Badoni uses the pace well. He has to make adjustments to the ball outside the off stump,” Srivastava.

“He is a gun fielder. And these days it’s all about youngsters and he’s a decent off-spinner. He is a very good future prospect and the franchise can invest in him. Moreover, he is for INR 20 lakh only”.

Lucknow Super Giants (IPL 2022) squad: KL Rahul (c & wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Evin Lewis, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Andrew Tye, Kyle Mayers, Avesh Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Ravi Bishnoi, Ayush Badoni, Manan Vohra, Krishnappa Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ankit Rajpoot, Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Karan Sharma.

Cricket