Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has heaped praise on India pacer Mukesh Kumar, who impressed one and all with his control in the first T20I against Australia in Vizag on November 23.

On the pitch where both the teams scored more than 200 runs, Mukesh returned with the bowling figures of 0/29 in his four overs.

After watching his spell, Ashwin complimented Mukesh by saying that the latter could become the next Mohammad Shami.

“I initially thought Mohammed Siraj would become the junior Shami, but I now feel it could be Mukesh Kumar. Shami is called ‘Lala’ and as a tribute to the actor Mohanlal who is called Lalettan, I call Shami Lalettan,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“Mukesh Kumar has a similar build, similar height, outstanding wrist position – he has that great whip of the wrist and terrific back-spin on the ball. He has a very nice straight and nice alignment. He had bowled really well in the series in the West Indies and was outstanding at a practice game in Barbados,” he explained.

Ashwin also shared a fascinating anecdote about how Mukesh was spotted at a talent camp in West Bengal.

“His story is outstanding, a very well-mannered boy. When Ganguly took over Cricket Association of Bengal, he had conducted a talent hunt, he had contracted Waqar Younis, VVS Laxman, and Muttiah Muralitharan for that talent hunt programme. Mukesh Kumar, who had gone in search of work to Kolkata, joined that talent hunt at Jadavpur university,” Ashwin stated.

“He was given a bib with his name and he was supposed to go to bowl when his name was called. But he had gone to the toilet at that time! Imagine, you are going to bowl in front of Waqar Younis, and you were at the toilet. They had called out his name but he wasn’t there! He returned, waited for 30 minutes and told them that his name wasn’t called out.

“It was then that Waqar Younis, who was about to leave, told him to bowl a couple of balls. Those two deliveries changed his life and he is now bowling for India. Waqar said that this boy is talented and will go a long way. He then went to play for Ranji Trophy where WV Raman was the coach, who further encouraged him,” he revealed.

Mukesh Kumar has played 1 Test, 3 ODIs and 6 T20Is so far, claiming a total of 9 wickets. He will be next seen in action in the second T20I against Australia, scheduled for November 26 in Thiruvananthapuram.