Who Is Akash Madhwal, The Engineer Breaking IPL Bowling Records For Mumbai Indians?
Akash Madhwal was in action at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday as the young pacer took five wickets to lead Mumbai Indians to victory against Lucknow Supergiants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 eliminator. Figures of 5/5 in 3.3 overs were enough to put him in an elite list with big names like Anil Kumble and Jasprit Bumrah. However, according to a report in the Indian Express, Madhwal was playing tennis ball cricket four years ago and had never touched a red ball before.
Madhwal, who studied engineering, became the first cricketer from Uttarakhand to be selected by MI in 2022 as a replacement for the injured Suryakumar Yadav.
In 2019, he caught the attention of then Uttarakhand coach Wasim Jaffer and current coach Manish Jha, which resulted in the fast bowler starting his training in the red ball.
Following that, Madhwal had a magical run in the domestic season and ahead of the 2023 domestic season, the fast bowler was rewarded for his efforts when Uttarakhand announced him as the white-ball captain.
The MI bowler also has an interesting bond with Indian wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant.
Both cricketers hail from the same region from Uttarakhand and during his formative years, Madhwal trained under Avtar Singh, the cricket coach who coached Pant before moving to Delhi.
“He (Akash) was part of the team last year as a sub-bowler and with Jofra once gone, I know he has the talent and quality to do the job for us. We have seen many players from Mumbai Indians come and play for India over the years,” MI captain Rohit said after the match. Sharma said.
Madhwal will look to continue his development when MI take on Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.
