Cricket fans didn't know much about young batter Ayush Badoni when he was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for his second successive season in the IPL at the base price of ₹20 lakh.
He looked like just another buy to boost the reserves though the 23-year-old hit a superb 191 for Delhi against Hyderabad in Ranji Trophy this January, and before that a fine 40 against Saurashtra and 91* against Jharkhand for Delhi in List A last November.
Before using Badoni as an Impact Player in this IPL, LSG chief coach Andy Flower too was curious about the true utility of a player in that role. “This Impact Player rule is going to be quite interesting and we all need to learn from the first match (CSK vs Gujarat Titans),” the former Zimbabwe skipper had said before LSG’s first match against Delhi Capitals.
He couldn’t have expected Badoni to emerge the most valuable Impact Player of the side, which is on top of the table with three wins in four matches. Badoni has scored 71 runs (5x4, 2x6), including 24-ball 30 against RCB, but his utility has been felt in all four matches.
In his first season with LSG, Badoni scored 161 runs in 11 innings with 54 the highest. He also took nine catches as LSG finished third in the 10-team event after losing to RCB in the Eliminator.
{{/usCountry}}In his first season with LSG, Badoni scored 161 runs in 11 innings with 54 the highest. He also took nine catches as LSG finished third in the 10-team event after losing to RCB in the Eliminator.
{{/usCountry}}This season, his scores of 18, 23 and 30 runs may not look big, but they have come at a strike rate of 144.90 and in the death overs that LSG have benefitted from their impact.
The latest came on Monday with LSG chasing a huge 213. Badoni came into bat at No 7 with LSG reduced to 105/5 in the 12th over. He watched senior partner Nicholas Pooran hit all around the ground while playing second fiddle. When Pooran got out, LSG still needed 24 runs off 18 balls. Badoni added 17 more runs with Jaydev Unadkat before getting hit-wicket, leaving the team to get only seven off the last eight balls.
In 2022 IPL, the trainee of the late Tarak Sinha was nicknamed “Baby AB”, drawing comparisons with AB de Villiers after hitting an impressive half-century on IPL debut against Gujarat Titans. Though his team lost, skipper KL Rahul praised the batter.
The jury is out on whether cricket even needs the Impact Player while teams are still weighing how best to use that option. If it is for a batting boost, LSG won’t have to think much.