Shared autos for INR 30, no bowling spikes, rejected by CSK, KKR, RR: Ashwani Kumar wants to be like Bumrah at MI

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one tournament where talent meets opportunity. The cash-rich league has turned several youngsters into overnight stars, and the latest addition to the list is Mumbai Indians' young speedster Ashwani Kumar. The 23-year-old was the star of the show as he picked up four wickets to help Mumbai Indians bundle out KKR for 116 inside 17 overs. Ashwani's father, who owns one and a half acre land in the village, has now revealed how his son used to take INR 30 from him to travel from home to the stadium. Ashwani Kumar picked up four wickets against KKR. (ANI )

Ashwani Kumar, the left-arm pacer, took the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Manish Pandey. The youngster struck with his first delivery as he got the better of KKR skipper Rahane. In the end, he returned with figures of 4/24 in the quota of four overs.

“Rain or hot sun, Ashwani would never hesitate to go to PCA at Mohali or later at the new stadium at Mullanpur. Sometimes, he would cycle to PCA academy or take lifts or would go in shared autos," Indian Express quoted Harkesh Kumar as saying.

"I remember he would take ₹30 from me for the fare, and when he was picked up for ₹30 lakh by Mumbai Indians in the mega auction, I knew his worth was every penny. After each wicket today, I would think about those days when he would return at 10 PM after his training and again wake up the next day at 5 AM to head hack," he added.

For the uninitiated, Ashwani Kumar trains in the same academy as KKR star Ramandeep Singh. The speedster made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2019, and not many know that he also trained alongside Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh at the PCA Academy. Ashwani was also part of the BRV Blasters team that won the Sher-E-Punjab T20 Cup in 2023.

“Ashwani would tell me and other youth of the village to reach early in the morning at the school ground no matter what and most of us would bat against him at the school ground,” Ashwani's elder brother Shiv Rana told Indian Express.

“Sometimes, he would go to other cricket grounds near the village to play for local teams and would again call us in the evening to play. He would bowl pace wearing normal canvas shoes and friends like Chahat Rana, who is now in Italy, and others would support him with cricket balls and spikes. His passion was to play cricket and make us proud, and today he has done that for all of us,” he added.

'VRV Singh spotted his pace'

Speaking to the Indian Express, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) secretary Dilsher Khanna said former India pacer VRV Singh spotted Ashwani Kumar's pace and revealed his role in developing the youngster's overall bowling.

"VRV Singh spotted his pace mind and worked on making him understand the technicalities of fast bowling. While Harwinder Singh oversees the overall programme, VRV would help Ashwani mould his bowling action and things like utilising the pace off the pitch," said Khanna.

Ashwani's elder brother also stated that Ashwani has always wanted to be like experienced campaigners Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc. He also talked about the youngster giving trials for several other IPL franchises.

Ashwani Kumar had appeared at trials for teams like Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.

"He attended trials for IPL sides, but he always wanted to be like Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc. His friends would pool money to get him cricket balls, and when he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh, the first thing he did was to get cricket kits and balls distributed in the academies near our village," Shiv said.

"He always used to tell me that his favourite jersey would be to wear a jersey which has his own name. And with today’s performance, he has made sure that kids will wear his name jersey," he added.

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