Ashwani Kumar: The Mumbai Indians masterstroke in IPL with banana-fuelled fearless spirit
Ashwani Kumar made a dream start to his IPL career for Mumbai Indians, delivering a standout performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in MI’s first home game of the season at Wankhede Stadium. The left-arm seamer returned with figures of 4/24, the best by an Indian debutant in IPL history. He also became the first Indian bowler in a decade to take a wicket with his very first ball in the tournament.
The pacer, known for his expertise in death overs, was snapped up by Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh in the 2025 mega auction.
Last season, he was part of the Punjab Kings squad but never made it to the playing XI. Kumar made his domestic debut for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2022 but has featured in only four matches. He first grabbed headlines with his performances in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament, Punjab’s domestic T20 league.
Playing for BLV Blasters, he registered his best figures of 4/36. His previous bests include 3/37 in List A cricket and 1/19 in domestic T20s.
Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey praised Ashwani’s temperament and execution under pressure. “To see someone coming in, one first game, under pressure, happy for him.
He worked on his strengths and focused on his strengths and that gave him results. It’s not about performance, it’s about going and enjoying what you do best,” Mhambrey said while speaking to iplt20.com.
Ashwani was among three changes MI made for the match, and Mhambrey explained why he was included in the playing XI. “Left arm seamer who swings the ball and has got high pace, ticks a lot of boxes for us.