In T20 cricket, where players' reputations are built off the amount of runs they have scored and the number of sixes/boundaries that they have hit, the Ayodhya Premier League saw an innings that seemed to defy physics.
Swastik Chikara, a young batting star in the 2026 IPL mini auction who was not sold, has made a big statement to all franchise scouts in all of India.
Playing for the Gomti Thunders against the Hindon Titans, not only did Chikara play an innings, he also created a tornado as he struck 195 runs off 69 balls.
21 Sixes and a Near-Double Century
The crowd at the Ayodhya grounds was on fire when Chikara unleashed his attack. He made his hundred quickly in 54 balls, and then he did something that even most professional cricketers don't do change the way he's batting completely.
His final score was a perfect picture of his physicality: 21 sixes huge enough to go over the boundary without any trouble.
During the last over with the heart-in-the-mouth moments, Chikara was 18 runs short of the target of 200 - a record T20 double-century innings. In the last five balls, he took three sixes and a boundary, but still was 5 runs short of 200.
Even if the double century was not recorded, the 195-run injury will be remembered as one of the most exciting white-ball batsmen to emerge from the domestic circuit.
From Champion Squad to Unsold Status
However, the most puzzling part of the Swastik Chikara saga is his recent streak of luck in the IPL auction room. In 2025, he was part of the historic Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, which finally managed to win the coveted trophy.
The talented Swastik Chikara, who was bought at a mere 30 lakhs, had to sit on the sidelines while Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar led the team to glory, failing to make his debut with the Red Devils.
He smashed 499 runs in the UP T20 League 2024, topping the charts with a strike rate of 185. He hit 47 sixes and still, not a single franchise picked him up at the IPL 2026 mini-auction. They left him unsold at a base price of ₹30 lakh. People were already questioning that move, and after he hammered 195 runs in Ayodhya, it just feels like the franchises missed a huge opportunity.
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