Mumbai: Mumbai Indians proved once again that dreams do come true as they uncorked another cricketing gem, pushing into the forefront an unknown bowler from Punjab in their first home match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.
A few days after they introduced Vignesh Puthur to the world, against the fellow five-time winners Chennai Super Kings in Chennai, the Mumbai Indians on Monday gave the first cap to Ashwani Kumar, an unknown 23-year-old left-arm seamer from Jhanjeri town near Mohali (Chandigarh).
Ashwani grabbed the opportunity with both hands and claimed 4-24 in three overs, making use of the conditions and slight assistance provided by the fresh Wankhede pitch. Ashwani thus became the first Indian bowler to claim four wickets on IPL debut, ending up with the best figures by a debutant bowler.
It was a surprising decision by Mumbai as Ashwani has only played four senior T20 matches prior to his IPL debut. He has figured in two Ranji Trophy matches and four List A matches, but has not set the stage on fire in any of those matches.
Ashwani, who was informed of his debut on Sunday itself, came empty stomach to the Wankhede, his jingling nerves making it impossible to eat anything.
“I am feeling very good. I was feeling pressure early on, but the team environment did not make me feel that way. I just had a banana because there was pressure, so I was not feeling very hungry. I had planned a little, but they told me to enjoy myself on debut and bowl what I have been bowling,” Ashwani told the broadcasters in the mid-innings interview.
The shy, lanky 23-year-old proved a tiger when given the ball as he struck with his first ball, dismissing KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
He claimed three more wickets, setting up experienced batters Manish Pandey and Andre Russell like a seasoned pro, keeping the ball short and wide and enticing them to take their chances. And they mostly failed to get the better of him. He cramped Pandey for space, getting him to play onto his stumps while Russell was bowled when Ashwani sent in a fullish delivery after two short ones. Rinku Singh was sent back by a delivery that was banged in short, enticing him to hit against the line.
Elated by his performance, Ashwani gave credit to skipper Hardik Pandya for helping him plan Russell’s dismissal.
“Hardik bhai told me to bowl short and to bowl at the body, and that led to a wicket. In my village, everyone would be watching. They were just waiting for my debut, and by God’s grace, I got an opportunity tonight and did well,” said the young pacer.
Monday was the first time that Ashwani had picked 4 wickets in a match. His previous best was 3-37 in List A cricket and 1/19 in T20s. He grabbed a catch and also dropped two in the field, but that did not matter as his heroics helped Mumbai Indians bowl out KKR for 116 in 16.2 overs.
Ashwani, the latest in the line of young pacers to make a mark in IPL and following in the footsteps of Mayank Yadav and Umran Malik, had an opportunity to claim a maiden fifer but did not get a chance to complete his quota of four overs.
But his debut heroics mean that he will definitely get more opportunities in IPL 2025. Now it is up to him to come up with consistent performances and join the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh to ride their IPL success into the big league.
(IANS)
