Ashwani Kumar has etched his name into the history books following his four-wicket haul on his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in the clash against Kolkata Knight Riders. Ashwani was roped in by the Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 30 lakh.
Ashwani Kumar has etched his name into the history books during his Indian Premier League debut for Mumbai Indians in their clash against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, March 31. Ashwani was among the three changes MI skipper Hardik Pandya made for the clash against KKR, with Will Jacks and Vignesh Puthur also coming in.
Ashwani has achieved a never-seen-before record by an Indian in the history of the Indian cash-rich league. He wreaked havoc and picked up four wickets in his first three overs for MI.
Ashwani has become the first-ever Indian player in the history of IPL to take a four-wicket haul on his IPL debut. The 23-year-old starred as he picked 4/24 in his three overs for MI.
The MI star picked up the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell as he played a key role in bowling KKR out for just 116.
The highlight of his spell was the first-ball wicket of Rahane. He has become just the third MI player to take a wicket off his first ball on IPL debut after Ali Murtaza and Alzarri Joseph. Dewald Brevis also took a wicket off his first ball of his IPL career but not on his debut.
Check who Ashwani Kumar is
Ashwani Kumar, a Mohali-born 23-year-old, is a left-arm pacer picked by the Mumbai Indians for his base price of Rs 30 lakh. Ashwani plays for Punjab in the domestic circuit. He made his domestic debut in December 2019 in First-class cricket, before playing the other two formats too. He made his List A debut in December 2021 and his T20 debut in October 2022.
Ashwani has played two FC matches, four List A and as many T20 games before making his IPL debut for MI.
Mumbai Indians brought Will Jacks and Vignesh also back in their Playing XI. “We gonna bowl first, looks like a good track. Knowing Wankhede, dew may or may not come in. There might be some early swing, it plays well so we thought chasing is a good option. We want to get into good rhythm and kickstart. Overall, we want to play better cricket, we need to stay calm. Will Jacks comes back and we have a debutant – Ashwani Kumar,” MI captain Hardik said at the toss.
“We wanted to bowl first as well but I was confused looking at the wicket, generally Wankede is a good batting surface so I feel it’s a good toss to lose. There’s a little breeze going on, no dew factor to deal with. We will look to post a good total on the board and I have confidence in our bowlers to defend. We are playing good cricket, every games gives a good opportunity to play good cricket. Lovely ground, we are looking to play good cricket. Sunil comes in place of Mooen,” KKR captain KKR said at the toss.
