While he has played only one game, and it’s early to draw any conclusions, Ashwani Kumar showed encouraging skill sets and the ability to be a permanent in the setup.
Ashwani Kumar enjoyed a fabulous IPL debut by wreaking havoc against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium last night. He bowled exceptionally well to snare four wickets for 24 runs in three overs, including big batters like Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell.
Following the game’s conclusion, Ashwani revealed that Hardik Pandya’s words motivated him to do good for the team in his maiden attempt. He said the Mumbai Indians’ captain reminded him about his background, helping him overcome his debut blues.
“Hardik Pandya told me you’re from Punjab, and Punjabi are not scared, they scare others. It gave me confidence.”
Even Hardik praised the youngster after the game, crediting MI’s scouts for finding such a fine talent. He said there was some assistance for pacers in the wicket, paving the way for Ashwani’s debut, and the move worked for the team.
“This wicket just offered a bit more, and we thought Ashwani can come in and bowl the way he bowled. First of all, it’s all because of the scouts. All MI scouts have gone to all the places and picked these young kids. We played a practice game, and it looked like he had that zip and late swing, had a different action, and plus he is a leftie.”
While he has played only one game, and it’s early to draw any conclusions, Ashwani Kumar showed encouraging skill sets and the ability to be a permanent in the setup. As Hardik mentioned, he is a left-arm pacer who can move the new ball and extract late swing, which worked for him in the Wankhede Stadium.
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Further, he gets some zip off the deck and hits the bat harder, for the ball comes quicker than batters anticipate; he drew 55% false shots in his spell. More importantly, he has the bowling smarts and had plans for different batters, including Andre Russell, who could have been very dangerous on that deck.
Ashwani bowled two short-length deliveries to push Russell off the back foot before bowling a length delivery on the fuller side to uproot his stumps. He is not a complete hit-the-deck bowler but has the pace and a good short delivery to bowl into the body, which he used brilliantly in his maiden IPL outing; his average length of 9.22m was the shortest among all speedsters in the game.
This is still an early stage, and Ashwani will face arduous situations in the coming game, but the start has been promising. The Mumbai Indians (MI) are missing their premium bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, and they would want Ashwani to keep performing to reduce the damage caused by Bumrah’s absence.
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