Ayush Badoni says he wants to ‘put a price on my wicket’ ahead of Ranji opener

On October 10, 2026, Delhi captain Ayush Badoni said on the eve of the Ranji Trophy season that he wants to "put a price on my wicket" ahead of his team's opening match against Bengal in Kalyani.

The 26-year-old has been tasked with anchoring Delhi’s middle order and guiding a young batting unit while also carrying captaincy responsibilities as the side seeks to improve in the First-Class competition. Delhi, a seven-time Ranji champion, has not reached the knockouts since 2017-18, a span Badoni is expected to help end this season.

Badoni’s longer-format record — an average of 54 with four hundreds and 10 half-centuries after 38 innings — was cited as strong but also as a platform for greater consistency. "I want to put a price on my wicket. There have been instances when I have played some flamboyant shots to give away my wicket. I want to make the bowlers earn my wicket. If I make a half-century, I don’t want to get carried away. I want to get as many big scores as possible," he said.

On his approach to leadership and pressure, Badoni told The Hindu: "I like to take challenges. As a batter, I like it when there is pressure. As a captain too, there is pressure. I will try to keep things simple and rely on my instincts to do what is best in that given moment."

Delhi’s recent Ranji campaigns have been hampered by an inability to consistently take 20 wickets, a shortfall the team must address this season. Against Bengal, the responsibility for providing breakthroughs will fall largely on pacers Navdeep Saini, Simarjeet Singh, Money Grewal and Divij Mehra.

On the bowling group’s fitness and experience, the skipper said: "Injuries have been common. We have not always had our main bowlers available," the skipper lamented. "Apart from Saini, there isn’t much experience. It does take some time. But the hope is that the bowlers have evolved and will take a lot of wickets this season."

Badoni’s comments arrived immediately before Delhi’s opening Ranji Trophy fixture against Bengal in Kalyani, the match that will represent the start of his tenure as captain in this season’s First-Class campaign.