Ayush Badoni scores fifty on IPL debut: A look at other Indian players who have achieved the feat

Indian Premier League is a perfect platform for the youngsters to showcase their talent. Players like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant — who are now big name in the international circuit — had impressed with notable IPL performances at the beginning of their careers.

Another youngster, Ayush Badoni has started his IPL career in style too. Making his debut for the new franchise Lucknow Super Giants, Badoni grabbed eyeballs with a brilliant knock of 54 off 41 balls against Gujrat Titans at Wankhede stadium on Monday. As the Giants lost a couple of wickets upfront, unperturbed Ayush came out to the crease and joined Deepak Hooda to stitch a partnership of 87 runs, giving the much-needed impetus required by the team to reach a respectable total of 158 in 20 overs.

With this performance, Badoni joined an elite list of Indians who have scored a fifty on their IPL debuts.

Here’s the list of eight Indian players who have achieved the feat in the past:

Gautam Gambhir- 58* vs Rajasthan Royals in 2008

Before shattering records for Kolkata Knight Riders, former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir served the Delhi franchise for three seasons. He made his debut in the very first edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008.

In his first appearance against Rajasthan Royals, he showed pure class with a knock of 58 runs off 46 balls and helped the Delhi Daredevils chase down 130 runs. With seven fours and a six, Gambhir helped Shikhar Dhawan accelerate and finish the innings in style. It was the first of his 44 IPL half-centuries.

Shikhar Dhawan- 52* vs Rajasthan Royals in 2008

Shikhar Dhawan began his IPL career with Delhi Daredevils in the 2008 edition. The left-handed Indian opener notched a brilliant half-century in his debut game against Rajasthan Royals.

After Shewag’s dismissal, Shikhar Dhawan played a confident and composed knock of 52 runs off 41 balls. He also hit the winning boundary to chase the target down in 15.1 overs.

Swapnil Asnodkar- 60 vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2008

As Rajasthan Royals won the very first edition of IPL, their top-order batter Swapnil Asnodkar played an important part to push the Royals to the victory line. He made his IPL debut against KKR where he played a magnificent inning of 60 runs off just  34 balls to win the player of the match award.

S. Vidyut- 54 vs Delhi Daredevils in 2008

Left-hander Sivaramakrishnan Vidyut began his IPL journey for Chennai Super Kings in 2008. In his debut match against Delhi Daredevils, he played an important knock of 54 runs off 37 deliveries but CSK had to suffer an eight-wicket loss. Vidyut only managed to play eight matches in his IPL career.

Shreevats Goswami- 52 vs Delhi Daredevils in 2008

Indian keeper-batter Shreevats Goswami started playing IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008. During his first match, he scored an impressive 42-ball 52. However, RCB lost the match by 5 wickets.

Ambati Rayudu- 55 vs Rajasthan Royals in 2010

Ambati Rayudu made his IPL debut as a part of the Mumbai Indians in 2010 against the Rajasthan Royals. He played an important role  in helping MI reach a mammoth score of 212.

While coming at no. 5, Rayudu build an impressive partnership with Saurav Tiwary and hit boundaries at regular intervals. He scored 55 off 33 balls with 6 boundaries and 2 sixes.

Kedar Jadhav- 50* vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2010 

Kedar Jadhav appeared in IPL much earlier than his debut for India. He played his first season of IPL for Delhi Daredevils. In his very first match, Jadhav shared the crease with AB De Villiers and scored an unforgettable half-century off just 29 balls. His innings involved five fours and two sixes. He finished the innings with a six off the last delivery by Vinay Kumar. His contribution helped Delhi put up a score of 183 runs on board.

Devdutt Padikkal- 56 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2020

Indian rising star Devdutt Padikkal is the youngest among the debutants who got a half-century in their opening performances. In September 2020, Padikkal made his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Padikkal scored a thunderous 56 runs off 42 balls at a strike rate of 133.33. His inning was laced with eight fours.