Changing to side-on action did the trick for Ashwani, says coach Vajinder Singh

Mumbai Indians’ star performer against Kolkata Knight Riders, pacer Ashwani Kumar, 23, was initially a semi-open chested bowler, revealed his coach Vajinder Singh with whom Ashwani trains at the Launching Pad Academy in Chandigarh. In his debut IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, Ashwani’s 4-24 helped MI beat KKR by eight wickets for their first win in IPL-18. His dismissals included KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell.

“I saw Ashwani for the first time a couple of years ago when my student Ramandeep Singh [KKR batter] recommended him for training. Then, he was a semi-open chested bowler and struggled to bowl in good areas. He used to bowl good outgoing deliveries, but in-swing was a tough task for him. So, I made some corrections in his bowling action and made him a side-on action bowler, which helps him bowl in the right areas and in-swing as well,” Vajinder told mid-day from Chandigarh on Tuesday.

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Vajinder Singh

When asked how long Ashwani took to adapt to the new action, Vajinder said: “He is a quick learner. But we went step-by-step while working on his bowling action four-five months before the start of the ongoing IPL. Initially, we worked on just ball release, then with a short run-up and later he did it with a full run-up and with accuracy.”   

However, Vajinder, reckoned that his ward is a natural cricketer who has represented Punjab in two Ranji Trophy games and in four List A matches. “He was guided by various coaches at different levels. But I feel he groomed himself. He is a natural talent, who is now showcasing his skills at the IPL level. 

“He is a very hardworking boy. He was never satisfied with bowling just five-six overs during net practice. He never thinks about workload management and always wants to bowl at least 15 overs during practice. Many a time I have to stop him from bowling,” he added. Vajinder also revealed how Ashwani once endured a tennis elbow injury. “He lost a couple of years due to the tennis elbow injury on his bowling arm. But he worked with physio Gaurav Sharma and did rehab himself to overcome that phase,” he explained.

Before the start of IPL-18 Vajinder had a word with Ashwani which proved motivational. “I told him that his straight competition will be with MI left-arm pacer Trent Boult [who claimed 1-23 v KKR], who is his idol and he bowled really well along with Boult, who has huge international as well as IPL experience. I think Ashwani will do well in the future and if he sticks to his strengths and limitations, he may play for India as well,” Vajinder added.

Ashwani credits MI skipper Hardik for memorable debut

Mumbai Indians newcomer Ashwani Kumar on Tuesday said skipper Hardik Pandya settled his nerves before his IPL debut by reminding him that “Punjabis are fearless” and that he should just go out and scare the opposition. Ashwani said: “It is a very good feeling. I hadn’t thought that I’ll do so well. Hardik bhai told me, ‘you’re from Punjab and Punjabis are fearless, so just scare the opponents and enjoy yourself,’ ” Ashwani told iplt20.com about the unique advice he received. He also became the first Indian bowler in the last decade to take a wicket off his very first ball in the IPL.