Ashwani Kumar, the 23-year-old fast bowler from Punjab was handed his Indian Premier League debut for the Mumbai Indians in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Wankhede on Monday. The left arm seamer garnered attention with his ability to bowl brilliantly in the slog overs and has plenty of variations in his kitty.

In the 2025 mega auction, he was roped in by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 30 lakhs. He was also the leading wicket taker in the 2023 Sher-E-Punjab Trophy, helping his side win the silverware which caught the eyes of the MI scouts.

Kumar was brought straight into the action when he completed a great catch to send back Kolkata opener Quinton de Kock off Deepak Chahar’s bowling in the 2nd over. Kumar also took a wicket off his first ever delivery when he sent back Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane in the 4th over before snapping up Rinku Singh and Manish Pandey in just his second-ever over. He also clean bowled the dangerous Andre Russell for just 5 runs.

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“Sporting a unique hairstyle, this left-arm pacer from Punjab is surely looking forward to kickstarting his stint with the most decorated team in the tournament’s history! With the 23-year-old all set to learn and perform under the likes of fellow fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar, it’s only a matter of time before we see his hidden talent unleashed in front of the cricket fraternity,” reads MI’s profile for the player.

He has played 2 First Class Cricket matches where he has taken 3 wickets while in 4 List A matches, he also took 3 wickets. He has played 4 T20 matches where he took 2 wickets.

In the match, Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match here on Monday. MI brought in Will Jacks and also handed a debut to Kumar. KKR made one change, bringing in Sunil Narine in place of Moeen Ali.

(More to follow)