The left-armer has been making waves in the Sher E Punjab T20 Trophy since 2023
Ashwani Kumar’s most effective weapon is also among the most sought-after skills in the IPL. The left-armer possesses pace variation which he seldom fails to execute. He can bowl cutters, slow-bouncers, floating full-tosses and the length ball that can stick to the surface for a moment before looping on to the stumps.
The 23-year-old’s prowess with wide yorkers is a specialty that many teams yearn for in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Think of Harshal Patel’s staggering returns in 2022 and 2024 seasons. Ashwani is of the same ilk but much more deceiving in the air. Despite making his First-Class debut for Punjab at the age of 18, List-A debut at 20 and senior T20 debut at 21, there wasn’t much hype around him until the state got its own T20 league.
In the 2023 Sher E Punjab T20 Trophy match between BLV Blasters and Agri King’s Knights, the latter were chasing a target of 195 and had two wickets in hand. This was also the same match in which Kolkata Knight Riders’ Ramandeep Singh smashed six sixes in an over.
Despite losing many wickets they were within the grasp of a win, needing to score eight runs off the last over. Ashwani, who got whacked for 24 overs in his previous over, came back for the final over and gave away just two singles, two byes and claimed a wicket to hand Blasters a win by three runs.
This was just the start. In the next match, Hampton Falcons were chasing 179 and were in a 50-50 situation by the end of 19th over. They needed 11 runs off the last six balls and once again it was Ashwani who was handed the ball.
After conceding 33 in his first two overs in the powerplay, the left-armer miscued a wide yorker off the second ball, which was lofted over to the boundary. Yet somehow, he bowled the next four balls fuller and even slower through the air to defend six runs and earn a one-run victory for his team. Ashwani’s match figures of 3 overs 42 runs and zero wickets, doesn’t even come close to his impact in the match.
That season Ashwani finished 17th on the most wickets list with eight wickets from 10 matches as Blasters lifted the title. But if anyone has to point out the most crucial moments of their entire campaign, Ashwani’s two final overs will be among them.
As the Sher E Punjab began in June 2024, Ashwani was at it again. Playing for Agri King’s Knights (AKK) in the new season, he was a clear standout among his teammates with figures of 4-21 from four overs as AKK managed to eke out a 10-run win while defending 213.
Bowling the penultimate over when 25 were needed, Ashwani bowled yorker after yorker getting two wickets and giving away just five runs in the over. What stayed constant from the previous season was his control. Depending on the batters’ movement in the crease, the 23-year-old landed the ball differently while maintaining a mystery on when it would arrive near the bat.
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Against Intersoft Titans, he got two wickets and yet again bowled a 10-run penultimate over that helped AKK defend 177 and manage to win the match by a single run. AKK finished fourth in the league stage and exited in the semifinal but a much-improved Ashwani stood out in the bowling charts. He got 11 wickets from seven games and struck every 12 balls from the 134 balls he bowled.
These performances made him almost unmissable for the Punjab team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 led by Abhishek Sharma, who was also Ashwani’s captain at AKK in the state league. The left-armer’s return to the senior team after a gap of two years resulted in 0-33 against Mizoram and 1-19 against Meghalaya in the SMAT group matches.
Ashwani was also called back into List A team for the first time since 2021 for the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he managed to get 3-37 against Arunachal and 0-48 against Puducherry.
The presence of star Punjab allrounder Naman Dhir in the Mumbai Indians squad had also played a part in the youngster’s IPL prospects as he was picked up for the base price of INR 30 lakh.
Ashwani has a high chance of getting a game or two with MI in IPL 2025. The five-time champions have a long tradition of playing young talents in every season. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah or recent talents such as Hrithik Shokeen and Anshul Kamboj, had reaped big benefits from getting game time at MI. If MI follows the same pattern as Punjab did with Ashwani in domestic cricket, he might find a playing XI spot in inconsequential league matches.
If he can manage to impress head coach Mahela Jayawardene in the nets, he might be getting an IPL debut much before the business end of the league stage.
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