IPL 2025: Who is Ashwani Kumar, Mumbai Indians' young pace sensation?

Ashwani is 10th overall and the fourth player for MI to take a maiden IPL wicket on their first ball on debut

Mumbai Indians’ (MI) scouting proved once again why they are one of the best in the league on Monday, as their latest debutant Ashwani Kumar wreaked havoc against KKR at Wankhede, picking four wickets while giving away just 24 runs in his three-over spell. Ashwani took Ajinkya Rahane’s wicket on his very first ball to enter the elite list of bowlers to take a maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) wicket on their first ball on debut. Ashwani is 10th overall and the fourth player for MI to achieve this milestone. Before Ashwani, Ali Murtaza, Alzarri Joseph and Dewald Brevis were the other MI bowlers to pick wickets on their debut ball.  Notably, Ashwani is also the only Indian bowler to take four wickets on his IPL debut.

 

 

Full list of players to pick a wicket on the first ball of their IPL debut

 

Bowler	Match	Batter	Year
Ishant Sharma	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore	Rahul Dravid	2008
Wilkin Mota	Punjab Kings vs Chennai Super Kings	Suresh Raina	2008
Shane Harwood	Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers	Azhar Bilakhia	2009
Amit Singh	Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings	Sunny Sohal	2009
Charl Langeveldt	Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals	Rob Quiney	2009
Ali Murtaza	Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals	Naman Ojha	2010
TP Sudhindra	Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings	Faf du Plessis	2012
Alzarri Joseph	Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad	David Warner	2019
Matheesha Pathirana	Chennai Super Kings vs Gujarat Titans	Shubman Gill	2022
Ashwani Kumar	Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders	Ajinkya Rahane	2025

 

Who is MI’s latest debutant Ashwani Kumar?

 

Ashwani Kumar is a left-arm pacer from a town called Jhanjeri, near Chandigarh is known for his deceptive bouncer, pace variations and effective wide yorker. He impressed Mumbai Indians scouts with his death bowling in the 2024 Sher-E-Punjab T20 Trophy. Ashwani made his debut in the 2022 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but has played only four matches, taking three wickets at an economy of 8.50. He has also featured in two first-class and four List A games for Punjab. Bought for Rs 30 lakh in the 2025 mega auction, he was previously with Punjab Kings but did not get a game last season.  Ashwani on his performance 

During the innings break, Ashwani Kumar shared his thoughts on his impressive debut performance, expressing both excitement and relief.

 

"I am feeling really good. There was some pressure early on, but the team environment helped me stay calm," he said.

 

Revealing his pre-match nerves, he added, "I just had a banana because of the pressure—I wasn't feeling very hungry. I had a basic plan, but the team encouraged me to enjoy my debut and stick to what I’ve been bowling."

 

Ashwani credited Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya for key advice. "Hardik bhai told me to bowl short and target the body, and that’s exactly how I got my first wicket," he explained.

 

Speaking about the significance of the moment, he said, "Everyone in my village was eagerly waiting for my debut. By God’s grace, I got this opportunity tonight and performed well."