Who is Ashwani Kumar? MI’s debutant pacer who starred against KKR

Mumbai Indians bowlers completely outplayed the KKR batting lineup in the 12th game of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025). Meanwhile, the young bowler who attracted the headlines was none other than MI’s newly recruited Ashwani Kumar, who completely dismantled the core of KKR’s batting attack, destroying their top and lower-middle order.

He claimed a sensational four-wicket haul, scalping 4 wickets at 24 runs in his three overs in the first innings to help MI bundle the KKR at the score of just 116 runs in 16.2 overs. He claimed the big wickets of KKR, including the skipper Ajinkya Rahane, star all-rounder Andre Russell, alongside Manish Pandey and Rinku Singh. 

With that said, here we’ll have a look at the journey of the young pacer from scratch to play for the five-time IPL champions, Mumbai Indians. Notably, it is also the IPL debut for Ashwani Kumar in the MI colours.

Also Read: WATCH: MI bowlers dismantle KKR’s top order in powerplay during MI vs KKR game

From Mohali to Mumbai: A cherishing journey to remember

The 23-year-old Mohali-born pacer was bought by the Mumbai Indians for the amount of INR 30 lakhs in the IPL 2025 mega-auction before the tournament’s ongoing 18th edition. The Punjab pacer missed the first two matches for MI, in which the team faced two successive defeats.

Speaking of his domestic career before the limelight of IPL, he started his First-Class career for Punjab against Rajasthan in a Ranji Trophy 2019 game. Later, he made his List-A debut for his state in 2021 during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, followed by his T20 debut in 2022 for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy’s Pre Quarter-Final against Haryana.

He has played 2 FC games, alongside playing four games each in the List-A and domestic T20s; the 23-year-old has scalped 3 FC wickets, 3 List-A wickets and 2 wickets in the domestic T20s.  

Ashwani could be a brilliant option for MI to pick in the playing XI, considering a left-arm pace combination with the veteran pacer Trent Boult in the later stage of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2025.

Considering his young age, he also has the potential to go far in competitive cricket with his amazing bowling skills and deceptive techniques to threaten the batters.