Ashwani Kumar, a 23-year-old from Punjab, was included in the starting XI by Mumbai Indians for their IPL 2025 match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede Stadium on Monday. The left arm pacer dismissed Ajinkya Rahane for his first IPL wicket. He followed up with with wickets of Manish Pandey, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh.
Best bowling figures on IPL debut match
6/12 - Alzarri Joseph (MI) vs SRH, 2019
5/17 - Andrew Tye (GL) vs RPS, 2017
4/11 - Shoaib Akhtar (KKR) vs DD, 2008
4/24 - Ashwani Kumar (MI) vs KKR, 2025*
4/26 - Kevon Cooper (RR) vs KXIP, 2012
4/33 - David Wiese (RCB) vs MI, 2015
A left-arm pacer who is known for bowling in the death overs was bought by the franchise for Rs. 30 lakh in the 2025 mega auction. Though he was part of the Punjab Kings squad last season, he didn’t make it to the playing XI.
Who is Ashwani Kumar?
Ashwani made his debut for Punjab in the 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but has played only four matches so far, taking three wickets with an economy rate of 8.50. Additionally, he has appeared in two First-Class and four List A games for Punjab.
His breakthrough came in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament, where he represented the BLV Blasters and impressed with his best figures of 4/36.
Ashwani is not the only domestic talent given a chance by MI this season. The five-time champions also handed debuts to Kerala’s Vignesh Puthur, a left-arm unorthodox bowler, against Chennai Super Kings, and provided Andhra’s Satyanarayana Raju with two appearances this season.
Mumbai bowl out KKR FOR 116
Mumbai Indians have won the toss and opted to field first in the crucial game against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 31st March 2025.
The bowling unit led by debutant Ashwani Kumar destroyed the KKR batting lineup as the defending champions were bowled out for 116 runs in 16.2 overs. Ashwani bagged 4 wickets while Deepak Chahar had 2 wickets to his name. The rest of the bowlers bagged a wicket apiece
