It has been a season of redefinition for Ayush Badoni, the 24-year-old Delhi cricketer, who has led the South Delhi Superstarz from the front in the ongoing Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20. Badoni, who has made a name for himself as the rescuer for the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, is playing at number three in the inaugural edition of the DPL and not only he has taken responsibility, but has also batted at a strike rate of 226 in the tournament and fittingly the Men in Red are in second position on the table and have qualified for the playoffs already.
Badoni, who has batted in the middle and the lower-middle order for the Super Giants in the IPL, has been exceptional at No. 3 and during an exclusive interaction with India TV, the 24-year-old mentioned that he likes batting at that position but is flexible according to the team's needs. "Yeah, I like to bat at 3 and 4 also because I get to bat in the circle (powerplay). It's great fun because, only two players are outside so I like that," Badoni said.
"But in the IPL, senior players perform that role. But in IPL too, I am flexible that way and wherever I get the opportunity and wherever they want me, I would like to perform for the team," Badoni added. Badoni had two fifties to his name in the 2024 edition of the IPL for LSG and in both games, he found himself coming in at 66/4 and 77/5 respectively, when his team was under the pump and from those situations he was able to not only get his side to respectable score but also get runs at a rapid pace.
In DPL 2024 so far, Badoni has 515 runs to his name at a strike rate of 226, including the monster knock of 165 off just 55 balls against the North Delhi Strikers where he smashed a mammoth 19 sixes. Badoni mentioned that that was his main aim, to play aggressively. "It is a great feeling [to have the season he has had]. I was looking at DPL as a mini-IPL. So my main motive was to play aggressively, make my team win as a captain and keep my strike rate high. So that was my plan and I have been able to execute it so far," Badoni added.
Ayush Badoni and Priyansh Arya with the historic scoreboard
This tournament has also been a revelation of Badoni as a captain. The 24-year-old has not only led the team well with the bat but has been able to maintain the well-oiled machine on the field as well. "My main aim was obviously to lead the South Delhi Superstarz to the title. And the team is filled with youngsters, so I wanted to take the responsibility and thankfully, I have been able to do that.
"I am enjoying the captaincy a lot. I like taking responsibility and enjoy batting when under pressure and have been able to do that. It is going well so far, we are at No. 2 so hopefully, we lift the trophy," said Badoni, who mentioned that he didn't have any idol in particular captaincy-wise but has been a fan of AB de Villiers, the batter.
Badoni also said that captaincy has also been lucky for him as whenever he has led the side, he has done well. "I approach captaincy as a responsibility. Whenever I have been a captain, I have performed well, my team has performed well. So you can say, captaincy is lucky for me."
Badoni is looking forward to the red-ball season ahead as well. SDS skipper mentioned that he has a month to prepare for the Ranji Trophy and other red-ball tournaments after the DPL but his focus currently is winning the DPL T20 trophy for his side and not even the IPL auction despite there being uncertainty if he will stay with the Super Giants or not.
"I am staying in the present [when asked about IPL auction]. Currently, I am just focussed on how to win the trophy for my South Delhi Superstarz team. So I'm not thinking about the IPL auction right now," Badoni signed off.
With 12 points in their name, the Superstarz have done well but the table-toppers East Delhi Riders could prove to be the biggest hurdle in their way towards the trophy of the inaugural DPL T20.
