IPL 2025: Who is Ashwani Kumar? MI pacer registers best figures by Indian bowler on debut against KKR
Ashwani Kumar, on his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians, took a stunning 4-wicket haul against Kolkata Knight Riders.
FollowMumbai Indians debutant Ashwani Kumar put up a brilliant bowling performance in his first IPL outing against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, March 31.
After opting to bowl first by Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya after winning the toss, the hosts rattled Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting line-up with Ashwani Kumar leading the charge. The 23-year-old was brought into attack in the 3rd over of the Mumbai Indians’ bowling and picked his first wicket on the first ball by dismissing Ajinkya Rahane. Thereafter, Ashwani picked the wickets of Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, and Andre Russell to register the figures of 4/24 at an economy rate of 8 in his spell of three overs.
Ashwani Kumar scripted history by becoming the first Indian bowler to take four-wicket haul on his IPL debut. His sensational spell in the first IPL match of his career helped Mumbai Indians bundle out Kolkata Knight Riders for 116 runs in 16.2 overs. Deepak Chahar picked two wickets, while Hardik Pandya, Vignesh Puthur, Trent Boult, and Mitchell Santner picked a wicket each.
Who is Ashwani Kumar?
Ashwani Kumar is a Punjab pacer hailing from Mohali. He made his professional senior debut for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy in 2019 against Rajasthan. Two years later, Ashwani made his List A debut for his state team against Rajasthan in 2021. In 2022, Ashwani played his first T20 match against Kolkata in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Eden Gardens Stadium. The 23-year-old picked three wickets at an economy rate of 8.5 during the prestigious Indian T20 domestic tournament.
Ashwani grabbed the attention of Mumbai Indians’ talent scout with his brilliant performance in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament last year, where he picked 11 wickets in six matches while representing Agri King Knights. The young pacer was listed at the IPL 2025 Auction, and Mumbai Indians secured his services for his base price of INR 30 lakh. In 2024, Ashwani Kumar was part of Punjab Kings squad but did not get a single game throughout the season.
Ashwani Kumari was the first to make his debut for Mumbai Indians this season. Vignesh Puthur and Satyanarayana Raju made their IPL debuts against Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, respectively. All three bowlers picked wickets in their debut IPL outings.
Ashwani Kumar wants to make his Mohali people proud
Ashwani Kumar expressed his happiness to have gotten the opportunity to play in the Indian Premier League. The Mohali-born cricketer added that he had nervousness while making his IPL debut despite having full confidence in himself.
“It's a big thing for me to get this opportunity and get the Man of the Match. My native place is in Mohali district. It has taken a lot of hard work and by God's grace I'm here.” Kumar said after winning the Player of the Match.
“I had full confidence but still there's always nervousness before a game. Whatever opportunities I get, will make people proud back home.” he added.
Also read: IPL 2025: Why MS Dhoni bats lower in the order? CSK coach Stephen Fleming REVEALS
Mumbai Indians open the account
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians registered their first win of the season with a comprehensive 8-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium.
With a target of 117, Mumbai Indians chased it down with 43 balls to spare. Ryan Rickelton led MI's run-chase with a brilliant innings of 62 off 41 balls. Suryakumar Yadav chipped in with an unbeaten quickfire knock of 27 off 9 balls and finished off the game with a six in the 13th over.
For Kolkata Knight Riders, Andre Russell led the bowling attack as he picked two wickets while conceding 35 runs at an economy rate of 12.40 in four overs. The rest of the bowlers, including Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Harshit Rana failed to pick a single wicket. In batting, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the top-scorer with an innings of 26 off 16 balls. Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh, and Manish Pandey scored 22, 17, and 19 respectively.
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