Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai
Ashwani Kumar scripted history as he became first Indian to bag a four-fer on his Indian Premier League debut. The left-arm pacer dismantled the Kolkata Knight Riders batting line-up after ending up with the figures of 4/24 in three overs at Wankhede Stadium on Monday. Notably, the youngster joined an elite list of 10 bowlers to have scalped a wicket on the first ball of his IPL debut, dismissing local boy and KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Hailing from a small town near Chandigarh named Jhanjeri, Ashwani has played just two Ranji Trophy matches for Punjab while featuring in four Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games each for his state. Former India batter Wasim Jaffer, who is currently the head coach of the Punjab state team, lavished praise on the 23-year-old while speaking highly of his work ethic.
“I saw him when I joined the Punjab team as the coach. He had made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2019 but didn’t get a lot of chances to represent Punjab given the kind of strength the team has,” Jaffer told RevSportz.
“He is a good kid, comes from a humble background. What I liked about him is that he never missed a net session and is always eager to bowl at the nets. That is where you polish your skills. He bowls with good pace, has a sharp bouncer and has added variations like a slower ball or a cutter, which is really important in today’s day and age,” Jaffer added.
Known for his pace variations, Ashwani also has a very good wide yorker but didn’t get a chance to showcase that with KKR batting crumbling in front of a jam-packed Wankhede crowd. He had impressed in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 Trophy last year, where he closed out plenty of matches with his effective death bowling. In IPL 2024, Ashwani was in the Punjab Kings camp.
“Ashwani played a couple of games for us this season in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but that didn’t really go as per plans. Also, we had players like Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar among others, so we had to drop him from the playing XI but make no mistake, he is a really good talent. He was pretty raw is what I heard when he made his debut in 2019 but with him being a quick learner, sky’s the limit,” Jaffer said before adding: “He is still pretty young and can improve. He already has good pace and if he works on bringing the new ball back into the right handers, then he can be a lethal new ball bowler as well. If a left-arm pacer is bringing the ball back, then it is always a good sign. I already spoke to him during the domestic season and told him to focus on polishing his new ball skills.”
“Him being with a team like Mumbai Indians is so good for him and his career. He will get to learn from top bowlers like Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and others, and when Jasprit Bumrah joins them, that will be the icing on the cake for Ashwani. He will grow by leaps and bounds,” Jaffer observed.
After bagging the wickets of Rahane, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Manish Pandey – all international cricketers – Ashwani agreed to being under a bit of pressure on his debut while praising Hardik Pandya for his inputs on the field.
“I am feeling very good. I was feeling pressure early on but the team environment did not make me feel that way,” Ashwani told the host broadcasters during the mid-innings break. “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. 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.”