Ayush Badoni: A natural backfooter with time and tons
Structured, specific training in the lead-up to the Ranji Trophy has put the Delhi captain right on top of the batting charts after three rounds
Everywhere Ayush Badoni has played, great first impressions have followed. At the Delhi Capitals trials ahead of the 2022 season, the 22-year-old smashed a 25-ball 50. He went one better at the LSG trials, scoring 90 off just 30 balls. LSG roped him in at the auction, and on debut, he struck a 41-ball 54 in a loss against Gujarat Titans. KL Rahul called him Baby AB, a nod to the range of shots he brought out that day. Here was a fresh, young and diminutive batter taking to the big boys' league seamlessly. But that is merely half the Badoni story.
On the evening of October 18, Badoni was on a call with his club coach, Davendra Sharma, when he said, "Double karunga, sir." He was talking about a double century. Just a couple of hours before, he'd walked off the Palam B Stadium in New Delhi unbeaten on 115 against Gujarat at stumps on Day 1. Duly on Day 2, the double came. A week later, he did it again: against Jharkhand in Ranchi this time.
Not that Davendra is surprised by the outcome. He's known Badoni since he walked into the famous Sonnet Cricket Club in New Delhi as a 12-year-old, with a frame so diminutive that the coach had his doubts. But what Badoni didn't - and doesn't - have in size, he makes up for, with time.
"Ayush always had the time. He's a natural backfooter. A lot of times when kids start out, they're always front foot players. Anyone who plays on the backfoot, is a special kid. He almost always has the time. Ayush was like that," Davendra tells Cricbuzz.
Badoni caught Davendra's attention by how unflustered he was even at that age during the trials for a club with such a rich alumni roster: Rishabh Pant, Ashish Nehra, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan. Davendra keeps steering the conversation towards Badoni's mental strength, and the ability to not buckle under any kind of pressure.
"I oversaw Ayush's trial at our club [Sonnet]. What happens a lot of times in these trials is kids get nervous and end up not performing. Most of the times this happens because the kid realises that he's trying to get into such a big club. But he batted brilliantly and got in."
But in a world where a 15-year-old can walk out and hit Jasprit Bumrah for a six first up, perhaps the expectation, of mental fortitude at least, has already changed. Badoni however, offers more. He finds himself at the top of the runs charts after three rounds of the Ranji Trophy season because he was awash with self-awareness just before the season began.
"When I last met him, he said he didn't have a good IPL this year and after the Sri Lanka A series, he was dropped [from the India A team]. His mood was off," Davendra says.
He channeled that hurt into meaningful output. In the lead-up to the domestic season, Badoni's MO was to equip himself to bat long. Badoni occupies the No.5 spot for Delhi, but chose to hit the nets for hours against the new ball so he could get used to letting a lot of them go. The practice sessions went long, simulating a full day's play and involved training his mind to adjust to the red-ball switch.
"It [his preparation] was about telling himself that this is red-ball cricket and approaching it like T20 would not work. It was about tendencies. It was about controlling his mind, training it to not go after shots, about telling himself that he has to leave balls and play.
"He incorporated all of this in session-wise practice. He'd say, I'll now play 15 overs, and only attempt grounded strokes. No risk in this period. Within this plan, he wanted to attempt only those shots he was sure of, no forcing anything. He worked really hard on this. He made it up in his mind about leaving a lot and aimed to play with small targets. Idea was to score his first run first, then go ahead with targets of 10-10 runs. Then you get to 50, and then proceed towards a century. Once you get there, reset, take guard once more and aim for a double century," Davendra reveals.
"Ayush has also improved his second line of defence, playing while covering for swing movement. And because he plays late, he plays spin well too. You take big examples - Sehwag was a back-footer, VVS Laxman was a back-footer, Rishabh Pant is a back-footer, Yuvraj Singh was a back-footer. In international cricket, no one will give a ball to play on the front foot always. You'll get the three-quarter ball, so your backfoot game needs to be solid," Davendra says.
So far, all the work behind the scenes has brought instant dividends for the Delhi captain. But the domestic season is long and the red-ball demands are steep. Luckily for him, he knows how to reset, take fresh guard, start from zero and go again.
