Who is 23-yr-old MI star Ashwani Kumar, who scripted history by breaking KKR's back with memorable four-fer on IPL debut?

Who is 23-yr-old MI star Ashwani Kumar, who scripted history by breaking KKR's back with memorable four-fer on IPL debut?
Mumbai Indians' star bowler Ashwani Kumar in this frame

Highlights:

Ashwani Kumar made a historic IPL debut for Mumbai Indians

Ashwani Kumar took a brilliant four-fer to break KKR's back

Mumbai Indians' 23-year-old Ashwani Kumar made a sensational entry into the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday, March 31 as he became the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul on debut in the glitzy league. He bagged this historic feat during Mumbai Indians' IPL 2025 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders.

MI's Ashwani Kumar runs riot on IPL debut

Overall Ashwani Kumar became only the sixth bowler in the tournament's history to take four or more wickets in his debut match. Ashwani turned heads by making an immediate impact, striking with his very first delivery to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane. He continued his dominance in his subsequent overs, claiming the wickets of Rinku Singh and Manish Pandey in his second over, followed by the prized wicket of Andre Russell in his third. No other Indian bowler has achieved such remarkable figures in their maiden IPL appearance.

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Notably, the record for the most outstanding bowling performance on IPL debut is held by Alzarri Joseph. Playing for Mumbai Indians in the 2019 season, he recorded exceptional figures of six wickets for just 12 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. This performance also stands as the best innings-figures ever recorded in the entire history of the IPL. The only other instance of a bowler securing a five-wicket haul on their IPL debut was Andrew Tye's figures of five wickets for 17 runs for the Gujarat Lions against the Rising Pune Supergiant.

It was Ashwani Kumar's sensational three-over spell of 4/24 which helped MI bundle out KKR for a paltry total of 116, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi being their top scorer, with 26 runs off 16 balls.

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

Who is Ashwani Kumar?

Ashwani Kumar, a left-arm pace bowler specialising in death-over bowling, hails from Jhanjeri in Mohali, Punjab. He was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs. 30 lakh in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Notably, he was also part of the Punjab Kings squad in the previous season but did not get an opportunity to play in the final eleven.   

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He made his debut for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2022 but has only featured in four T20 matches since then, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 8.50. Additionally, Ashwani has played two First-Class matches and four List A games for Punjab.   

The left-arm pacer initially gained attention through his performances in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament, Punjab's own T20 league. Representing the BLV Blasters, he recorded his best figures of 4 wickets for 36 runs in the competition.   

Ashwani's inclusion in the Mumbai Indians' playing eleven is not an isolated instance of the franchise giving opportunities to domestic talent this season. The five-time champions previously handed a debut to Vignesh Puthur, a left-arm unorthodox bowler from Kerala, in their match against Chennai Super Kings. Moreover, Mumbai Indians have also provided Andhra Pradesh bowler Satyanarayana Raju with playing time in two games this season.