India · All-Rounder

Ajay Mandal: Age, Career Stats, 241* and 131 FC Wickets

Ajay Mandal is a left-handed batting and slow left-arm orthodox bowling all-rounder from Chhattisgarh. Through the 2025/26 Indian domestic season, he had 2,027 first-class runs and 131 wickets, including an unbeaten 241 from number eight and a 7 for 7 return in a 13-wicket match. Delhi Capitals retained him at INR 30 lakh for the completed 2026 IPL season, but the official competition record still lists zero matches. Squad membership is therefore kept separate from a playing appearance.

By StumpScope Cricket Desk · Edited by StumpScope Editorial Team

Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodox bowlerBorn 25 February 1996

Current squadDelhi CapitalsIndian Premier League · Retained by Delhi Capitals for the completed 2026 season; zero IPL appearances

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Full nameAjay Jadav Mandal

Age30As of 23 August 2026

Date of birth25 February 1996Durg, Chhattisgarh, India

Batting styleLeft-handed

Bowling styleSlow left-arm orthodox

Career overview

Ajay Mandal cricket career

Born in Durg on 25 February 1996 and aged 30 on 23 August 2026.

Left-handed batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler for Chhattisgarh.

Scored 2,027 first-class runs and took 131 wickets through 2025/26.

Made 241 not out from number eight against Uttarakhand in December 2019.

Returned 7 for 7 and took 13 wickets in a match against Puducherry.

Retained by Delhi Capitals at INR 30 lakh but still has zero IPL appearances.

Career story

Ajay Mandal career and playing journey

Who is Ajay Mandal?

Ajay Jadav Mandal is an Indian domestic all-rounder who has represented Chhattisgarh since the state entered the Ranji Trophy in 2016/17. He bats left-handed and bowls slow left-arm orthodox spin. His career is built on both disciplines: five first-class hundreds show more than lower-order resistance, while 131 wickets and five five-wicket innings establish a substantial red-ball bowling record.

Mandal's most recognizable performances came in different roles. He took seven wickets on first-class debut to help Chhattisgarh win its first Ranji match, scored 241 not out from number eight in 2019, and later claimed 7 for 7 in a 13-wicket match. The range matters because no single label fully describes how his team has used him.

His franchise history is much smaller than his domestic record. Chennai Super Kings signed him before IPL 2023, and Delhi Capitals bought him before IPL 2025 and retained him for 2026. The official IPL player record still shows zero matches, so his squad years do not create IPL runs, wickets or a debut date.

Ajay Mandal age, birthplace and playing style

Mandal was born on 25 February 1996 in Durg, in present-day Chhattisgarh. He was 30 years old on 23 August 2026. The official IPL and Delhi Capitals records identify him as an Indian all-rounder, while the domestic record gives the fuller cricket description: a left-handed batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler.

He began playing organized cricket as a teenager and represented Chhattisgarh at age-group level before the state gained full BCCI membership. That timing shaped his route. A senior state side did not exist throughout his early development, but the new Ranji program opened just as he reached first-class age.

The word all-rounder is supported by match output rather than a squad label alone. Mandal has passed 2,000 first-class runs, scored five hundreds and bowled more than 8,300 deliveries. In limited-overs cricket, he has also taken 42 List A wickets and 52 T20 wickets through the same 2025/26 cutoff.

How Ajay Mandal helped launch Chhattisgarh's Ranji era

Chhattisgarh made its Ranji Trophy debut against Tripura at Ranchi on 6 October 2016. Mandal debuted in the same match. He took 3 for 41 in Tripura's first innings and 4 for 55 in the second, completing seven wickets as Chhattisgarh won by nine wickets with a day to spare.

That result joined two beginnings: the state's first match and Mandal's first-class career. The performance was not a late addition to an established side's history. It helped produce the first win in the program's own history, which is why the seven-wicket return remains more meaningful than an isolated debut figure.

Mandal told Cricbuzz at the time that he regarded himself primarily as a batter, even though his bowling decided the contest. His later career made that distinction less rigid. He developed into a genuine two-discipline contributor without losing the batting ambition he brought into the side.

Ajay Mandal's unbeaten 241 from number eight

Mandal's highest first-class score is 241 not out against Uttarakhand at Raipur in December 2019. He entered at number eight after Chhattisgarh had lost six wickets and rebuilt the innings with Amandeep Khare. Khare scored 238, while Mandal remained unbeaten when the declaration came.

The pair added 399 for the seventh wicket. Mandal's innings included the patience needed to survive a long recovery and the scoring range needed to turn that recovery into a huge total. The batting position is essential context: 241 from number eight is not merely his highest score but an exceptional lower-order first-class innings.

Contemporary reports placed the score among the highest made from that position. Historical rankings can change as new matches are played, so the durable claim is narrower: he made 241 not out from number eight and shared a 399-run seventh-wicket partnership. Those facts are fixed by the match record.

Seven for seven and a 13-wicket match

Mandal delivered his best first-class bowling performance against Puducherry in December 2022. Chhattisgarh had been dismissed for 162, but he took 7 for 7 from 11.2 overs as Puducherry collapsed for 37. The figures combined penetration with extreme control: each wicket cost one run.

He then took six more wickets in Puducherry's second innings. Chhattisgarh won by 132 runs, and Mandal finished with 13 wickets in the match. The scorebook records 7 for 7 as his best innings figures and 13 for 63 as his best match return.

This performance explains the ten-wicket entry in his career table. It also shows why aggregates need match context. A total of 131 first-class wickets describes volume; the 13-wicket match shows the single contest in which his left-arm spin had its greatest documented impact.

The first 100 Ranji wickets taken entirely for Chhattisgarh

Mandal reached 100 Ranji Trophy wickets during Chhattisgarh's match against Goa in January 2023. Reports described him as the first bowler to reach that mark while representing Chhattisgarh throughout the tally. The qualification prevents confusion with players who brought wickets from earlier spells with another state.

Chhattisgarh made 531 for 9 declared, forced Goa to follow on and won by eight wickets. Mandal took five wickets across the match. The state association reported that his Ranji total stood at 103 after the game, connecting an individual landmark to another strong team result.

Ranji wickets and all first-class wickets are not always identical categories. The milestone refers to the national championship; the current 131-wicket total is his broader first-class career through 2025/26. Keeping the scopes separate avoids presenting a tournament landmark as the same thing as a format aggregate.

Ajay Mandal's 2025/26 Ranji Trophy season

Mandal began the 2025/26 Ranji season with 144 from 229 balls against Rajasthan at Rajsamand. Chhattisgarh had fallen to 49 for 5 before he led the recovery to 332. The innings contained 22 fours and was his fifth first-class hundred, lifting his career high-score count without replacing the 241 not out at the top of his record.

Rajasthan replied with 386 and ultimately won by nine wickets, so the century came in defeat. The result does not reduce the value of the innings, but it prevents the performance from being framed as a match-winning hundred. Mandal's job was to rescue the first innings; the team could not convert that recovery into control of the match.

Across the completed 2025/26 first-class campaign, he added 178 runs and six wickets to the previous career snapshot. That moved his totals to 45 matches, 2,027 runs and 131 wickets. The 144 accounted for most of his season runs, an important caution against reading the career increase as consistent scoring in every match.

Ajay Mandal first-class career statistics

Through 2025/26, Mandal had played 45 first-class matches and batted 68 times. He scored 2,027 runs, was not out 11 times and averaged 35.56. His record contains five hundreds, nine fifties and a high score of 241 not out, with 268 fours and 20 sixes in the dated table.

With the ball, he delivered 8,332 balls, conceded 3,856 runs and took 131 wickets at 29.43. His economy rate was 2.77 runs per over and his strike rate was 63.60 balls per wicket. He recorded five five-wicket innings, four additional four-wicket innings and one ten-wicket match.

The batting and bowling lines belong together. A batting average above 35 and a bowling average below 30 across 45 matches support his all-rounder classification. They do not establish international readiness or predict IPL selection; they describe what he has achieved in recognized Indian first-class cricket.

Ajay Mandal List A record through 2025/26

Mandal's List A record through 2025/26 is 37 matches, 625 runs and 42 wickets. He scored those runs from 33 innings, remained not out eight times and averaged 25.00. His highest score is 65 not out, and his strike rate is 99.36 runs per 100 balls.

His bowling record covers 1,815 deliveries and 1,424 runs conceded. The 42 wickets came at 33.90, with an economy rate of 4.70 and a strike rate of 43.21. His best innings figures improved to 4 for 40 during the 2025/26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The latest season added 130 runs and nine wickets to his earlier List A snapshot. Those gains explain why the previous figures of 495 runs and 33 wickets are no longer current. A dated update must change the inputs as a set rather than replacing only the headline wicket total.

Ajay Mandal T20 record through 2025/26

Mandal has played 52 recognized T20 matches, scoring 490 runs and taking 52 wickets through 2025/26. His 42 batting innings include 12 not-outs, giving him an average of 16.33 and a strike rate of 131.72. His highest score is 49, so the record contains no T20 fifty or hundred.

He has bowled 1,007 deliveries in the format, conceded 1,230 runs and averaged 23.65 per wicket. His economy rate is 7.32 and his bowling strike rate is 19.36. The best return remains 5 for 10, the only five-wicket innings in his recognized T20 career.

The 2025/26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy added 40 runs and eight wickets. A later DY Patil T20 Cup appearance is useful recent context but should not automatically be merged into the recognized career table unless the match is classified within the source's T20 record.

Chennai Super Kings contract without an IPL debut

Chennai Super Kings bought Mandal for INR 20 lakh at the IPL 2023 auction. The official auction table records him as an Indian all-rounder and provides the transaction amount. He remained in the Chennai squad across the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

He did not appear in an IPL match for Chennai. Squad selection is still part of his career because it placed him inside an IPL setup, but it cannot be converted into matches, runs, wickets or a championship appearance. A player's team history and playing record answer different questions.

The INR 20 lakh amount is the auction price, not proof of take-home income or net worth. Taxes, contract conditions, match fees and endorsements are separate. No dependable filing supplies a complete personal earnings calculation.

Delhi Capitals contract and completed IPL 2026 status

Delhi Capitals bought Mandal for INR 30 lakh before IPL 2025. The franchise's auction review listed him among its uncapped domestic purchases, and the official player record carried the same price. Delhi retained him at INR 30 lakh for the completed 2026 season.

The official IPL profile continued to show zero matches after the season. Mandal therefore has no IPL batting innings, runs, wickets, average or strike rate. The correct career summary is retained squad member with zero appearances, not an IPL performer whose domestic totals can be relabelled as franchise statistics.

Delhi's reasons for selecting a particular eleven are not public evidence. The squad contained other spin and all-round options, but roster competition alone does not prove why Mandal was omitted from any specific match. Only an official scorecard can establish a debut.

What Ajay Mandal offers as an all-rounder

Mandal gives a team a domestic left-arm spin option and a batter capable of extending an innings below the specialist order. His 241 not out shows red-ball endurance, while a T20 bowling average of 23.65 and economy of 7.32 indicate useful shorter-format control across his recognized career.

The skills do not guarantee the same role in every competition. In first-class cricket he can bowl long spells and build a partnership over several sessions. In T20 cricket, batting opportunities are shorter and his value may depend more heavily on four economical overs or matchup-based selection.

His record is strongest when it is described by format. Combining 225 wickets across first-class, List A and T20 cricket would double-count matches played under different rules and hide the changes in economy, strike rate and workload. Separate tables let the reader see the actual shape of the career.

Ajay Mandal records and achievements

Mandal's key batting achievement is the unbeaten 241 from number eight against Uttarakhand, supported by a 399-run seventh-wicket partnership with Amandeep Khare. The innings remains his highest first-class score and one of five hundreds through 2025/26.

His bowling achievements include seven wickets on debut, 7 for 7 against Puducherry, 13 wickets in that match and the first 100-wicket Ranji tally completed entirely for Chhattisgarh. Each milestone has a different scope: debut match, best innings, best match and tournament career.

The 144 from 229 balls against Rajasthan is the most important recent addition. It was his fifth first-class century and took his career past 2,000 runs, even though Chhattisgarh lost the match. The result should remain attached to the achievement.

Ajay Mandal salary, net worth and private life

The dependable public financial figures are his IPL auction or retention amounts: INR 20 lakh with Chennai before 2023 and INR 30 lakh with Delhi before 2025, followed by the same listed Delhi retention amount for 2026. These are competition transactions, not audited statements of his wealth.

No reliable public filing establishes Mandal's net worth, assets, tax position or complete endorsement income. Adding a precise estimate would mix an official contract figure with unsupported assumptions. The career record can state the disclosed IPL amounts without pretending they answer a different financial question.

The official cricket material reviewed for this profile does not confirm a spouse, partner or current relationship. Private-life claims from low-accountability biography pages are not necessary to understand his cricket career, so no name or status is stated without dependable public confirmation.

Ajay Mandal records

Ajay Mandal career statistics and records

Batting, bowling and fielding figures are kept separate by competition and format.

First-class (through 2025/26)45matches

Batting

Innings: 68
Runs: 2,027
High score: 241*
Average: 35.56
Strike rate: 62.44
Not outs: 11
100s / 50s: 5/9

Bowling & fielding

Innings: 75
Wickets: 131
Best bowling: 7/7
Average: 29.43
Economy: 2.77
Strike rate: 63.60
Balls: 8,332
Catches / stumpings: 26/0
5w / 10w: 5 / 1

List A (through 2025/26)37matches

Batting

Innings: 33
Runs: 625
High score: 65*
Average: 25.00
Strike rate: 99.36
Not outs: 8
100s / 50s: 0/1

Bowling & fielding

Innings: 36
Wickets: 42
Best bowling: 4/40
Average: 33.90
Economy: 4.70
Strike rate: 43.21
Balls: 1,815
Catches / stumpings: 11/0
5w / 10w: 0 / 0

T20 (through 2025/26)52matches

Batting

Innings: 42
Runs: 490
High score: 49
Average: 16.33
Strike rate: 131.72
Not outs: 12
100s / 50s: 0/0

Bowling & fielding

Innings: 50
Wickets: 52
Best bowling: 5/10
Average: 23.65
Economy: 7.32
Strike rate: 19.36
Balls: 1,007
Catches / stumpings: 14/0
5w / 10w: 1 / 0

IPL (through 2026)0matches

Batting

Innings: 0
Runs: 0
Not outs: 0
100s / 50s: 0/0

Bowling & fielding

Innings: 0
Wickets: 0
Balls: 0
Catches / stumpings: 0/0
5w / 10w: 0 / 0

Only fields published by the named source are shown; unavailable values are not guessed.

Career chronology

Debut and last listed match

First-class

Debut

6 October 2016, Chhattisgarh v Tripura

Last listed match

Career record complete through the 2025/26 season

T20

Debut

29 January 2017, Chhattisgarh v Uttar Pradesh

Last listed match

Recognized career record complete through 2025/26

List A

Debut

30 September 2018, Chhattisgarh v Hyderabad

Last listed match

Career record complete through the 2025/26 season

IPL

Debut

No debut recorded

Last listed match

Official player record lists zero matches through the completed 2026 season

Career achievements

Career achievements and milestones

Took seven wickets on debut in Chhattisgarh's first Ranji Trophy win.
Scored 241 not out from number eight against Uttarakhand.
Shared a 399-run seventh-wicket stand with Amandeep Khare.
Returned 7 for 7 and took 13 wickets in the match against Puducherry.
Became the first bowler to take 100 Ranji wickets entirely for Chhattisgarh.
Scored 144 from 229 balls in the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy opener.
Reached 2,027 first-class runs and 131 wickets through 2025/26.
Retained by Delhi Capitals at INR 30 lakh for 2026, with zero IPL appearances.

Reader questions

Ajay Mandal FAQ

How old is Ajay Mandal?

Ajay Mandal was born on 25 February 1996 and was 30 years old on 23 August 2026.

What is Ajay Mandal's role?

He is a left-handed batter and slow left-arm orthodox bowler who plays as an all-rounder for Chhattisgarh.

How many first-class runs and wickets does Ajay Mandal have?

Through 2025/26, he had 2,027 runs and 131 wickets from 45 first-class matches.

What is Ajay Mandal's highest first-class score?

His highest score is 241 not out, made from number eight against Uttarakhand in December 2019.

What are Ajay Mandal's best first-class bowling figures?

His best innings figures are 7 for 7 against Puducherry. He added six second-innings wickets to complete a 13-wicket match.

How much did Delhi Capitals pay for Ajay Mandal?

Delhi Capitals bought him for INR 30 lakh before IPL 2025 and retained him at the listed INR 30 lakh amount for 2026.

Has Ajay Mandal played in the IPL?

No. The official IPL player record lists zero matches through the completed 2026 season.

What is Ajay Mandal's net worth?

No dependable public filing establishes his net worth. IPL auction amounts do not reveal his complete income or assets.

Is Ajay Mandal married?

The reviewed official cricket sources do not confirm a spouse or current relationship, so no private-life claim is stated as fact.

Conclusion

Ajay Mandal's strongest record remains with Chhattisgarh: seven wickets in the state's first Ranji win, 241 not out from number eight, 7 for 7 in a 13-wicket match and the first 100-wicket Ranji tally completed entirely for the team.

His 144 in 2025/26 moved the career record to 2,027 first-class runs alongside 131 wickets. Delhi retained him at INR 30 lakh for IPL 2026, but zero official appearances keep his franchise playing record separate from his domestic achievements.