Who is Ashwani Kumar? 3 interesting facts about MI debutant who took a wicket off his first ball vs KKR in IPL 2025

Ashwani Kumar made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday (March 31) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mumbai. He became the third MI player to make his debut in the T20 league this season after Vignesh Puthur and Satyanarayana Raju.

Ashwani had a debut over to remember, as he dismissed KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane for 11 on his first delivery. Rahane made a good connection against the left-arm pacer's widish delivery, but could only get holed out to deep backward point fielder Tilak Varma.

Interestingly, the 23-year-old also dismissed Rinku Singh and Manish Pandey in his second over. He sensed that Rinku was charging, and he banged in short, resulting in the southpaw's wicket. Meanwhile, Ashwani bowled a peach of a delivery to breach Pandey's defense.

Ashwani went on to claim his fourth wicket by another superb length delivery to dismiss Andre Russell. He went through the gates of the Caribbean all-rounder. He ended with figures of 4/24 off three overs, as KKR were all-out for 116.

On that note, let's take a look at a few interesting facts about MI debutant Ashwani Kumar.

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#1 Has played only 10 domestic games in nearly 6 years

The left-arm speedster made his domestic debut for Punjab in a Ranji Trophy game against Rajasthan in December 2019. The game saw him pick two wickets, and he was subsequently dropped from the side. His next first-class appearance came in February 2022 against Himachal, where he could take a solitary wicket.

Meanwhile, Ashwani Kumar made his List-A and T20 debuts in 2021 and 2022, respectively. He made his return to the limited-overs sides in the 2024-25 domestic season. The 23-year-old recently registered his best figures of 3/37 against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2024-25 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Despite making his domestic debut in 2019, Ashwani Kumar has played only 10 games across all formats.

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#2 Consistent performer in last two seasons of Sher-e-Punjab T20

Ashwani Kumar gained recognition with his impressive performances in the 2023 edition of Sher-e-Punjab T20. He secured 10 wickets in eight games for BLV Blasters and eventually helped the side to clinch the title.

Meanwhile, Ashwani continued his impressive performance in the 2024 edition of the tournament. Representing Agri King's Knights, he bagged 11 wickets in seven appearances to take the team to the semifinals. Notably, he displayed his ability to defend runs in the death overs during the 2024 edition.

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#3 Ashwani Kumar was part of Punjab Kings setup in IPL 2024

Ashwani Kumar entered the IPL 2024 auction at his base price of INR 20 lakh. Unfortunately, he could not find any takers in the event and remained unsold.

But, as fate would have it, Ashwani served as a net bowler for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 2024 edition and fine-tuned his skills.

Check out Ashwani Kumar's stint as a net bowler for PBKS: