Ayush Badoni has had five seasons with Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. Over the past 12 months, he has also featured regularly for India-A across formats. The opportunities are a reflection of his potential as a hard-hitting middle-order batter and a part-time off-spinner, but it hasn’t yet translated into match-defining performances.

The 26-year-old from Delhi admits he was subpar in the most recent IPL. Despite getting to bat higher up the order, his returns were a meagre 215 runs in 10 matches at an average of 21.5. It was followed by three outings for India-A in a 50-over tri-series involving Sri Lanka-A and Afghanistan-A in June, where his scores read 24, 0 and 15.

“Definitely, I feel I can perform better. The best is yet to come,” Badoni, who will lead South Delhi Superstarz in the third edition of the Delhi Premier League from Friday, told reporters at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.

Badoni’s floundering form during IPL 2026 was compounded by LSG’s wooden-spoon finish. “It is challenging to be consistent as a player when the team is losing matches. The motivation goes down. Next year, we will hope to make amends,” he said.

Badoni remains determined to turn things around, for he knows that the national selectors are taking note of his contributions. “Playing for India-A gives you exposure and boosts your confidence. The selectors have told me to focus on my consistency as much as possible and to keep working on my bowling,” informed Badoni.

Comfort has eluded Delhi Capitals at home in IPL’s 19th edition. The Axar Patel-led franchise has won just one out of five matches at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. On its visits to other venues, it has fared much better, notching up three wins in five games.

Contributing to the travails at home has been the large deviation in the nature of surfaces, hindering DC from cultivating a consistent style of play in its backyard.

The last three matches in the national capital make for pertinent examples. Having engaged in a run-fest against Punjab Kings on a featherbed where Shreyas Iyer’s side chased down a record 265 on April 25, 2026, Capitals’ duel against Royal Challengers Bengaluru just two days later swung to the other extreme.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood extracted swing and seam movement, reducing the host to eight for six inside four overs. DC folded up for 75 and lost by nine wickets.

On Tuesday (May 5, 2026) night, the strip in use was on the slower side. DC’s batters couldn’t adapt quickly enough, allowing Chennai Super Kings to register an eight-wicket victory.

DC head coach Hemang Badani conceded that the lack of homogeneity with the pitches at home wasn’t ideal. At the same time, the 49-year-old explicitly stated that the franchises didn’t have a role in the preparation of pitches.

“We don’t have any control over the surfaces. There is a clear mandate from the BCCI that it looks after the surfaces and it is the one which ensures that no local side benefits. You play on what is presented to you,” Badani told reporters.

“Yes, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down curve for us to understand what we are going to get in Delhi. I think the whole competition is quite neutral that way. But ideally, yes, you want to have some consistency.”