Aahil Kachru

	Aahil Kachru
Born	9 June 2009, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Cricketer
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm leg break
Role	Batting all-rounder
Domestic team	Pondicherry
Years active	2024–present

Aahil Kachru (also written as Aahill Kachru; born 9 June 2009) is an Indian cricketer who represents Pondicherry in domestic age-group cricket competitions organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He has represented Pondicherry in youth domestic tournaments including the Vijay Merchant Trophy, Vinoo Mankad Trophy, and Cooch Behar Trophy.

Early life

Aahil Kachru developed an interest in cricket from an early age and began training in competitive youth cricket while progressing through India’s domestic cricket development structure. He emerged as one of the promising young cricketers representing Pondicherry in national age-group competitions.

Career

Early recognition by Delhi Capitals

At only 11 years of age, Kachru gained early national recognition after being featured by the Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Capitals on its official Instagram platform, where he was highlighted as a cricket prodigy.

The video received over '1.5 million views, making him one of the very few young cricketers to receive such recognition on an IPL franchise’s official social media platform at the time.

Pondicherry cricket

Kachru shifted to Pondicherry during the 2023–24 season and became eligible to represent the Cricket Association of Pondicherry (CAP), entering its age-group cricket structure during the 2024–25 domestic season.

Vijay Merchant Trophy

He represented Pondicherry in the 2024–25 Vijay Merchant Trophy', India’s national Under-16 domestic cricket competition organized by the BCCI.

He scored 172 runs against Baroda, helping Pondicherry secure an important first-innings lead. He later scored an unbeaten 59 runs against Tamil Nadu, contributing to Pondicherry recording a victory during the tournament.

Following his performances during the tournament, Kachru received the Emerging Player of the Year award from the Cricket Association of Pondicherry.

Pondicherry Premier League

In 2025, at the age of 15, Kachru was selected by Mahe Megalo Strikers in the Pondicherry Premier League (PPL), a franchise-based Twenty20 competition organized by the Cricket Association of Pondicherry under the BCCI domestic structure.

Representing the defending champions, he primarily played as an opening batter and competed alongside players who had previously represented teams in senior domestic tournaments including the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

During the tournament, Kachru was adjudged Best Fielder in two separate fixtures. Mahe Megalo Strikers eventually finished runners-up after losing to Villianur Mohit Kings in the tournament final.

Vinoo Mankad Trophy

Kachru represented Pondicherry in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, India’s Under-19 domestic one-day cricket competition organized by the BCCI, held at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium in Lucknow during the 2025–26 season.

During the tournament, he scored a half-century against Uttarakhand while competing as a first-year Under-19 player.

Cooch Behar Trophy

During the 2025–26 Cooch Behar Trophy season, Kachru recorded several notable batting performances.

His innings during the tournament included:

'159 runs against Gujarat, helping Pondicherry secure a draw
'78 runs against Vidarbha, contributing to Pondicherry avoiding defeat
'63 and 31 runs against Mumbai
'34 runs against Jammu and Kashmir

Against Mumbai, Kachru scored an aggregate of '94 runs across both innings, the highest aggregate by a batter during the match.

He finished the 2025–26 Cooch Behar Trophy season with 388 runs at an average of approximately 45.

Following the competition, Kachru was recognized by the Cricket Association of Pondicherry as Best Batter for Pondicherry’s Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy campaign.

National Cricket Academy

Kachru’s performances in domestic age-group cricket led to selection in development programmes organized by India’s National Cricket Academy (NCA).

Following the 2024–25 Vijay Merchant Trophy season, he attended the Under-16 National Cricket Academy programme in Mumbai.

Following performances during the 2025–26 domestic season, he was selected for the Under-19 National Cricket Academy programme in Rajkot.

Awards and recognition

Kachru has received recognition from the Cricket Association of Pondicherry for performances in domestic youth cricket.

Awards include:

Emerging Player of the Year (2024–25)
Best Batter of the Year – Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy (2024–25)
Best Batter Award – Pondicherry Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy campaign (2025–26)

Playing style

Kachru is a right-handed batter and right-arm leg-break bowler.

He primarily plays as a top-order batter and is regarded as a genuine leg spinner with multiple five-wicket hauls in both red-ball and white-ball cricket.

External links

References