Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Akash Madhwal has impressed one and all with his exploits in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
In seven games so far, Madhwal has picked up 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.76, including a match-winning five-wicket haul against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator.
The right-arm quick ran through the LSG batting line-up in the all-important fixture, returning with the stunning figures of 5/5 in 3.3 overs to script MI’s emphatic 81-run victory.
While Akash Madhwal is one of the finds of IPL 2023, he had humble beginnings like most of the emerging stars in the cash-rich tournament.
Till 2018, Madhwal was a tennis ball bowler, who posed a huge threat to the batters in the local leagues near Roorkee – his hometown.
Speaking to India Today, Akash’s elder brother Ashish Madhwal revealed that the former was so lethal at one point that the local leagues decided to ban him.
“Nobody let him play here. There was a lot of fear of his bowling. So, he was banned from the local tournaments. Dar ka mahoul tha. Akash used to go outside of Roorkee and play,” Ashish said.
“But yeah, his tennis ball days are done. He is so, so happy right now,” he added.
Ashish also praised Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma for bringing the best out of Akash Madhwal in his maiden IPL season.
“The thing with Rohit bhai is that he gives players chances. He trusts his players and backs them. A new player is always scared for his position in the team. And Rohit has taken away that scare and Akash is delivering now,” he stated.
Ashish further said that Mumbai Indians backed his brother since the 2022 season, and now Akash is repaying the faith shown in him.
“When Suryakumar got injured in 2022, with 2/3 matches remaining, MI announced him as a replacement for the batter. That was their way of showing faith in Akash that he would be picked for the IPL 2023 squad. Rohit had told him that he would get a chance to play in the 2023 season,” he remarked.
Akash Madhwal will be next seen in action for MI against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday (May 26).
