Ranji Trophy: Delhi captain Ayush Badoni doubles ambitions in the red ball

Ayush Badoni did not take off his helmet when he scored his hundred against Gujarat at the Air Force Ground in Palam on Sunday. A day later, when he brought up his double century, the Delhi captain was equally reserved. There was no elaborate celebration, no boom with the bat. He had a job to do and more runs needed to be scored.

“I get the most joy when I score goals, so I celebrate them very well. When I score 100 or 200 goals, I show it, but I’m not very expressive,” Badoni told reporters after the second matchday.

The 26-year-old has already scored two double hundreds in first-class cricket, but he wants to do more than produce the occasional big innings. His unbeaten 205 against Jharkhand in November 2024 and 204 for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy in 2025 showed what he could do when he got into the game. Against Gujarat, he made 217 off 246 balls, hitting 22 fours and two sixes to register his third first-class double century and highest score.

“Whenever I bat, I always think about how to take the pressure off my team, score as many runs as possible in Ranji Trophy and keep my team in a safe position,” he said after a smooth knock on a flat pitch in Palam. Despite reaching his double hundred, Badoni showed restraint during the celebrations at Palam (Courtesy: India Today/Akshay Ramesh)

Badoni started the new Ranji Trophy season with a clear intention. Delhi lost their opening match against Bengal by nine wickets last week, but their captain struck with both bat and ball. He took five wickets for 43 runs in Bengal’s first innings before scoring 85 off 134 balls in Delhi’s second innings. Against Gujarat, he went a step further, turning his hundred into a double and helping Delhi take control of the match.

He was unbeaten on 115 at the end of the first day and returned on Monday to complete his double century. His 234-run partnership with Priyansh Arya, who fell to 199, put Delhi in a commanding position. For Badoni, the inning was another opportunity to do what he wants to do more often: turn a start into a game-changing score.

HUNGER FOR MORE

His recent outings across formats have offered opportunities but also left room for improvement. Badoni traveled to Sri Lanka with India A on the white-ball tour before focusing on the Duleep Trophy, where he represented the North Zone. He scored two half-centuries against West Zone but failed to build on them in the semi-final against South Zone.

So the Ranji Trophy offered him a new opportunity to make a name for himself in the longer format. Badoni has spent a large part of the year in white-ball cricket and would be keen to use the red-ball season to produce the kind of substantial results that can put his team in a strong position.

“Last year I thought that while we are constantly playing white-ball cricket like T20 and IPL, playing red-ball cricket allows me to change the game and put in performances that help my team win and progress,” he said.

“I concentrated a lot on both bowling and batting which is why I was able to score this third double century and 197. My aim is always to score as many big runs as possible.”

The numbers highlight why this ambition is misplaced. Badoni scored 499 runs in five matches in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy at an average of 83.16, including an unbeaten 205 against Jharkhand and 99 against Railways. He followed that up with 294 runs in four matches in 2025-26. After those two seasons, the double hundred against Gujarat is an early statement of intent in his quest to become a more consistent scorer.

FOCUS ON BOWLING

His bowling remains an important part of the picture. Badoni has made it a point to continue working with the ball, even though batting takes up a lot of his practice time.

With Delhi often struggling for specialist spinners, Badoni has also not shied away from doing most of the work with the ball.

“Whenever I practice, I always bite a few overs after batting so that as an all-rounder I can also concentrate intensely on my bowling,” he said.

Badoni’s progress has also brought him closer to the national setup. He was backed by Gautam Gambhir at Lucknow Super Giants where he made his IPL debut in 2022 and has since become a useful white-ball cricketer and a regular in India’s A teams. He adopted his girl in January 2026 senior Indian call-up as a replacement for Washington Sundar for the last two ODIs against New Zealand. Badoni is enjoying bowling in the Ranji Trophy and it shows in his performance (Courtesy: PTI)

But Badoni is not looking too far ahead. The call-up was a milestone, not a guarantee of what’s to come, and he knows his job is to keep scoring and contributing to his team.

“Anything that’s not in my hands right now, I don’t think about it,” he said.

For now, that means focusing on Delhi and the upcoming season.

Badoni’s double hundred against Gujarat gave Delhi a strong platform and gave him an early opportunity to set the tone for his season. He has shown that he can produce big scores. The next step is to do it more often while still contributing with the ball and keeping his focus on the cricket in front of him.

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