Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer, who is also the coach for Punjab in domestic cricket, revealed how Ashwani Kumar left him impressed with his work ethic and skill-set.
Mumbai Indians' Ashwani became the first Indian bowler to pick a four-wicket haul in his IPL debut in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday.
Ashwani's spell of 4/24 against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in front of a packed Wankhede crowd left the visitors stunned and guided five-time champions to their first win of the season.
Speaking to Revsportz, Jaffer said: 'I saw him while I was in Punjab in August. I went there and I watched a lot of district games and he was playing for Mohali. So I was impressed with his action, the way he bowled, even though the pitch was not too conducive for fast bowling. But I liked his approach, the way he was running towards the stump and his strong bowling action.
'And then I got to know that he is somebody who had played way back in 2019. They picked him very immaturely at that time. That is what I got to know. He got injured after playing one or two games and was then sidelined. They probably played him a bit too early than he should have,' Jaffar added.
'But then after that, he worked very tireless. He is somebody I obviously got the opportunity to coach Punjab from September. And every time we had nets, every time we had the camp, he would be there irrespective of whether he was in the probables or not,' Jaffer recalled proudly.
Jaffer appreciated Ashwani's skill-set, as someone capable of bowling close to 140 kmph, having a great bouncer and yorker.
'He is developing his slower delivery. So he has got the armoury, you know, because obviously Punjab cricketers play a lot of T20 cricket around the circuit. And a lot of players, a lot of Punjab batters have high regard for him. They rate him quite decently. So we picked him,' he added.
Jaffer recalled that he was picked up for Punjab and got some game time in Syed Mushtaq Ali (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) so that he could be developed as a part of a new batch of bowlers as various bowlers like Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Baltej Singh etc were around.
He also believes spending time in the MI dressing room with the likes of Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, etc would benefit Ashwani.
'If you just share the dressing room with all these people, your confidence goes sky high. You know, if you are somebody who wants to grasp the knowledge and you want to improve, there is no better place than the Mumbai dressing room. Like you said, Rohit Sharma is there. Hardik Pandya, there is Lasith Malinga, Bumrah. You know, you name them, and everybody is there. Sachin Tendulkar might come in a few times and share his insights. So, if you are somebody who wants to, you know, improve, who wants to learn, there is no better place,' he concluded.
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