New Delhi: Ayush Badoni’s three IPL seasons with Lucknow Super Giants are scattered with eye-catching cameos. For Delhi in domestic cricket too, glimpses of his talent have been evident without quite going on to have that defining season that can propel him to higher honours.

With the start of the new domestic season not far away – the Ranji Trophy begins on October 11 – the 24-year-old hopes things can change in the coming months. Belonging to the famed stable of Sonnet, a club which has produced many great cricketers for Delhi and India, Badoni knows that he has to raise his game by a few notches.

“My performances have not been consistent. I will try to be consistent and score as many runs as possible. I need to take more responsibility for Delhi. My performances have been good, but I need to get more consistent so that Delhi can qualify for the latter stages of tournaments and win more games. More focus is necessary. I have also increased my practice hours to try and make bigger scores,” Badoni said during an interaction on Monday.

Currently, Badoni is in sparkling form for South Delhi Superstarz in the inaugural edition of the Delhi Premier League – the skipper is the tournament’s second-highest run-getter with 515 runs in eight games at an average of 64.38 and a strike rate of 226.87. Particularly commendable was his sustained blitzkrieg against North Delhi Strikers on Saturday, scoring 165 off a mere 55 deliveries as his team rocketed to 308/5 in 20 overs.

“After the IPL, I have practised a lot to try and hit spinners against sixes. I have also trained a lot against the newer ball. I like to bat at No.3 or 4. That is helping in DPL,” Badoni said. “DPL is a great platform for youngsters to showcase their talent and try to get into Delhi’s team and even IPL. I see this like a mini-IPL for myself. It is good practice for the IPL.”

One of those youngsters who is getting to show his wares in the DPL is opener Priyansh Arya. During the run fest on Saturday, Arya smashed 120 off 50 balls and shared a partnership of 286 with Badoni for the second wicket (these numbers in IPL are not classified under T20 stats). He also clobbered six sixes in an over off Manan Bhardwaj. “After the fourth six, I thought there is a chance. Ayush also asked me to go for it because such things happen very rarely,” Arya said.

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