First Indian Bowler Who Took Four Wicket on IPL Debut: Ashwani Kumar

Introduction on His Debut

Mumbai Indians pacer, Ashwani Kumar is leading all the headlines as the baller took four wickets vs Kolkata Knight Riders. He took wickets of captain, Ajinkya Rahane on his first ball, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey & bowled Andre Russell. He finished his spell with (03-24-04). Ashwani made his IPL debut on March 30, 2025, and it became a memorable day for the 23-year-old cricketer. Ever since his debut match, he is getting all the limelight.

Background

Ashwani Kumar belongs to Jhanjeri, a village in the Mohali district of Punjab.  Although the cricketer had a humble family who could not afford to pay for his cricketing career, his parents wholeheartedly supported his dreams. His family nurtured his dreams, and he found his way to play the game around Punjab. Let us read on to know more about the young cricketer.

 

Ashwani Kumar made his first-class debut in 2019 for Punjab at the mere age of 18.  He has also played two First-Class and four List-A games for Punjab. The left-arm pacer grabbed attention in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 tournament in 2024. He made his debut for the senior Punjab side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2022.

Financial Expense by Mumbai Indians

Ashwani was picked as a backup for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in the 2024-25 season, but the mega IPL auction began soon after. Before the auction, Ashwani appeared for trials at both CSK and Mumbai Indians (MI), but Mumbai Indians scouts were impressed by Ashwani’s ability to rush batters and his ability to swing the new ball. MI scouts picked Ashwani, who had just played five domestic games at that time, for Rs. 30 lakhs. IPL debut became a memorable event for him as he became the first Indian bowler to take four wickets on his IPL debut. He first dismissed KKR captain, Ajinkya Rahane and later caught Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell. The whole Wankhede Stadium stood in socked as the youngster took a very precious wicket in his first ball of the spell then after four-wicket haul on his IPL debut.

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians handed the IPL debut to Ashwani Kumar in the all-important clash against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, and the left-arm pacer didn’t disappoint. In search of a first win of the season, Mumbai decided to give Punjab’s Ashwani a big shot, and he made an instant impact with a wicket on the first ball of his IPL debut. He ended up claiming four wickets for three overs as Kolkata Knight Riders were bundled out for 116.

Record

The left-arm pacer was right on the money and got the better of KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane when Hardik Pandya introduced him into the attack in the 4th over. He bowled a full-length delivery outside off stump, and Rahane went aerial to break the shackles but found Tilak Varma at deep backward point. Varma almost dropped it but held onto it after a little juggle. He became the 10th bowler to pick a wicket on the first ball on IPL debut.

MI Bounced Bank as Usual

Mumbai Indians bounced back in style after suffering back-to-back defeats on the road, thrashing defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. The five-time champions thus became the last team to open their account in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and jumped to the sixth spot from the bottom of the table in the process. And at the heart of MI’s clinical bowling performance was Ashwani Kumar, who became the first Indian to collect four or more wickets on IPL debut with a haul of 4/24 on debut. The left-arm pacer dismissed KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane in his first ball of his IPL career and would later dismiss Rinku Singh, ‘Impact Player’ Manish Pandey as well as Andre Russell.

 

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