IPL 2025: Who is Ashwani Kumar, Mumbai Indians’ Latest Bowling Sensation
Ashwani Kumar Makes Dream Debut In IPL
If you had to dream up the best way to start your Indian Premier League career as a young seam bowler, claiming the scalp of an accomplished international player with your very first ball would likely rank at the top of the list of options.
For Ashwani Kumar, that dream became reality on March 31, when he picked up the prized wicket of Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper Ajinkya Rahane with his first delivery on debut for the Mumbai Indians in front of their home fans at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai suffered back-to-back defeats in their first two matches of the 2025 IPL season and handed the 23-year-old seamer his first start for the franchise in place of Satyanarayana Raju, and he repaid his team’s faith in genuine style.
After sending Rahane back to the pavilion, Kumar went on to dismiss Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell, ending the innings with 4/24, as Mumbai bundled the defending champions out for just 116 in 16.2 overs.
In doing so, Kumar became the first Indian bowler to take four wickets on IPL debut!
The young paceman was snapped up by the Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakh at the IPL mega auction last year - a drop in the ocean compared to some other players - after being released by the Punjab Kings for whom he had never featured despite being part of the squad for the entire 2024 season.
While he played in nine previous matches in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Punjab, Kumar had never picked more than three wickets in any format of the game before his instrumental spell against KKR’s formidable batting lineup.
Unfortunately for the rising star from Jhanjeri, the return of Jasprit Bumrah forced him out of the team for Mumbai’s last match against RCB, which they lost by 12 runs chasing 221/5. However, he is expected to return to the fray this weekend when Mumbai face the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
There are a couple of blockbuster matches on the cards over the coming days, and our GT vs. RR and RCB vs. DC predictions are online right now, so be sure to have a look at them ahead of the toss.
What Are the Best Bowling Figures on IPL Debut?
The greatest debut of all time for a bowler in the IPL came from the Mumbai Indians in the form of Alzarri Joseph back in 2019. The West Indian fast bowler stepped into the side as a replacement for Adam Milne and finished with an incredible 6/12 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Joseph picked up the wickets of David Warner and Vijay Shankar in his first two overs with devastating pace before dismissing Deepak Hooda, Rashid Khan and Bhuveneshwar Kumar in the space of four balls. His final wicket was that of Siddarth Kaul.
In second place is Australian medium-pacer Andrew Tye, who made his debut at 31 years of age and he marked the occasion with a memorable hat-trick against the Pune Supergiants in 2017 en route to figures of 5/17 in his four-over allotment.
The Rawalpindi Express, Shoaib Akhtar, ranks third in the all-time best figures on debut category, having claimed the wickets of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers and Manoj Tiwari for KKR against Delhi in 2008.
Kumar now joins this list of exclusive company with his 4/24 against the Knight Riders, and he is the only Indian in the top five in this category, with another West Indian, Kevon Cooper, in fifth place with 4/26 in 2012 for the Rajasthan Royals against Punjab.
Don’t forget, our experts will be providing their in-depth cricket predictions for every match throughout the 2025 IPL, so be sure to check them out.
