Ashwani Kumar was unstoppable as he dismissed Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Ajinkya Rahane (11 runs off 7 balls), Rinku Singh (17 runs off 14 balls), Andre Russell (5 runs off 11 balls), and Manish Pandey (19 runs off 14 balls) and finished with sensational figures of 4/24 in his four overs.
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But their humble background didn’t deter Ashwani’s passion for the game. Whether it was blazing hot sun or pouring rain, Ashwani's father revealed that his son was used to cycling to the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) academy in Mohali or hitching rides just to make it to training.
Ashwani Kumar's father opens up about his hard workd behind his memorable debut
The proud father also revealed that the fast bowler sometimes would even take shared autos, scraping together INR 30 for the fare. But then his life took a magical turn when Mumbai Indians picked him up for INR 30 lakh in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
He further recalled, “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 back.”
Ashwani Kumar wants to be like Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc
Notably, Ashwani Kumar trains at the same academy as KKR star Ramandeep Singh. He made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2019 and also trained with Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh at the PCA Academy. In 2023, he was part of the BRV Blasters team that won the Sher-E-Punjab T20 Cup.
Ashwani's brother Shiv revealed: “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.”
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