Mumbai Indians’ Rising Star Ashwani Kumar | From ₹30 Rides to ₹30 Lakh IPL Deal
The Indian Premier League is one of the tournaments where talents connect with opportunities. The money-rich league has turned many youngsters into stars over the night, and the latest addition to the Mumbai Indians' List is the youngster Ashwani Kumar. The 23-year-old speedster was the star of the show as Ashwani Kumar picked four wickets to help Mumbai Indians held out KKR for 116 inside 17 overs.
His father, who owns 1.5 acres of land in the village, has now revealed how his son Ashwani used to take INR 30 from him to travel from home to the ground.
Ashwani Kumar, the left-arm pace battery, has took the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and Manish Pandey. The youngster struck KKR skipper Rahane with his first delivery. In the end, Ashwani finished his 4 over quota with the figures of 4/24.
Harkesh Kumar quoted to Indian Express that - "If it rained or the sun shines hard, Ashwani Kumar would never hesitate to go to PCA at Mohali or later at the new stadium at Mullanpur. Sometimes, Ashwani Kumar would have to cycle to PCA academy or would go in shared autos or would take lifts."
he also mentioned the struggle days of Ashwani Kumar and how he would take 30 from me for the auto ride in those days to go PCA, and now, in IPL 2025, he was bought by Mumbai Indians for ₹30 lakhs in the mega auction. I knew his worth was every penny. After each wicket that Ashwani takes in the match, I would think about those days when Ashwani woke up at 5 AM for practice and would return at 10 PM after his training and again to this for the next days ".
The speedster made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2019, and Ashwani also trained alongside Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh at the PCA Academy. He was also the side of the BRV Blasters team that won the Sher-E-Punjab T20 Cup in 2023.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Dilsher Khanna, secretary of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) said that VRV Singh, a former Indian pacer, spotted Ashwani Kumar's talent and revealed his role in developing the youngster's overall bowling pace.
Ashwani's elder brother also said that Ashwani has always wanted to be in experienced players Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc. He also talked about the youngster giving trials for several other Indian Premier IPL franchises.
He appeared at trials for teams like Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan. Ashwani attended trials for Indian Premier League sides, but Ashwani always wanted to be like Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Starc. Ashwani's friends would pool money to get him cricket balls, and when he was picked up by MI for thirty lakh rupees, the first thing Ashway did with his IPL money was to get cricket kits and balls distributed in the near academies of our village," Shiv said.