Ayush Badoni sends message to selectors, double ton follows with table vs Jharkhand

Delhi captain Ayush Badoni continued his impressive start to the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy season by scoring a century against Jharkhand at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Monday.

Badoni smashed an unbeaten 106 off 122 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes, to post Delhi 309 for five at stumps. Days after his double hundred against Gujarat, the innings was another statement of intent from a batsman looking to make big scores a regular part of his red-ball game. \

Delhi’s top order had starts but failed to convert them into substantial scores. Priyansh Arya, who had hit 199 against Gujarat in the previous round, was dismissed for 39 while his opening match partner Sanat Sangwan made 37. Yash Dhull scored 29 at No.3 and Ayush Doseja scored a brisk 21 off 29 balls.

Badoni came in at No. 5, steadied the innings and then stepped up to add an unbeaten 128-run partnership with Sumit Mathur, who was batting on 50 at the stumps. Delhi slumped to 181 for five before a stand by the pair helped them recover.

A century follows Badoni’s 217 against Gujarat when he shared a 234 run partnership with Arya to help Delhi secure a lead in the first innings. He also struck with the ball in the season opener against Bengal, taking five wickets for 43 runs before scoring 85 in Delhi’s second innings.

After the Gujarat match, Badoni spoke of his desire to turn his skills into bigger scores more consistently. “My aim is always to score as many big runs as possible,” he explained of his approach to red-ball cricket. Screengrab from BCCI.TV

The 26-year-old has already shown what he can do in the format, scoring an unbeaten 205 against Jharkhand in November 2024 and an unbeaten 204 for East Zone in the 2025 Duleep Trophy. Those knocks were followed by a third first-class double set against Gujarat last week. His latest hundred suggests that he intends to build on that record this season.

Badoni averaged 58.31 in first-class cricket before the third-round match, having scored 2216 runs in just 26 matches.

Badoni was first called up to the senior Indian team in January 2026 and has been a regular in the India A squads. But he has made it clear that his focus is on the cricket ahead rather than looking too far ahead. For Delhi, his latest innings is a timely contribution from their skipper as they look to turn promising starts into stronger results in the Ranji Trophy.

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