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From bicycle rides to IPL glory: Inspiring journey of Mumbai Indians' Ashwani Kumar
It was Mohali Cricket Association coach Harwinder Baidwan who spotted Ashwani in 2016 at the MCA Ground near PCA Stadium. However, soon Ashwani made his presence felt as a left-arm bowler among the 200 odd trainees at the ground.
Updated : Apr 01, 2025, 05:13 PM IST
 "Ashwani Kumar, Cricketer, MI")
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When Mumbai Indian's Ashwani Kumar claimed 4 KKR wickets in IPL champions at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, his father Harkesh Singh sitting in his room more than 1,500 kilometres away in Chandigarh got emotional. He looked at the bicycle kept in a corner of the room passionately. This was the bicycle, Ashwani Kumar used to reach IS Bindra PCA Stadium, 11 kilometres away from his humble and nondescript village Jhanjheri.
Ashwani Kumar would cycle to PCA Academy
Talking to the Indian Express, he said, "Rain or hot sun, Ashwani would never hesitate to go to PCA at Mohali or later at the new stadium at Mullanpur. Sometimes, he would cycle to PCA academy or take lifts or would go in shared autos."
An emotional Harkesh Singh said, "I remember he would take Rs 30 from me for the fare and when he was picked up for Rs 30 lakh by Mumbai Indians in the mega auction, I knew his worth was every penny."
Rigorous Training
As Ashwani Kumar sent Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane, besides Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell back to the pavilion, his father said, "After each wicket today, I would think about those days when he would return at 10 pm after his training and again wake up the next day at 5 am to head hack."
However, it was not an easy ride. After starting from scratch in 2014, young Ashwani played cricket with his friends Aman Thakur, Abhishek Sharma, Ramandeep Singh and Arshdeep Singh at the PCA Academy, he made his Ranji debut for Punjab in 2019.
Harwinder Baidwan spots Ashwani Kumar
It was Mohali Cricket Association coach Harwinder Baidwan who spotted Ashwani in 2016 at the MCA Ground near PCA Stadium. However, soon Ashwani made his presence felt as a left-arm bowler among the 200 odd trainees at the ground.
He got a setback in 2020 when he suffered from a tennis elbow, he was forced to stay away from the game for more than a year.
Ashwani trains under coaches
Ashwani trained under coaches Dinesh, and Sumit Ohri and former Indian international pacer VRV Singh at the PCA Academy. He also became part of the BRV Blasters team, which won the Sher-E-Punjab T20 Cup in 2023.
Ashwani Kumar picked up 13 wickets in two editions of Sher-E-Punjab Cup.
He also appeared at trials for Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.
