Know who is Lucknow dream breaker Akash Madhwal who did not catch leather ball for 24 years

Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow in the eliminator match of IPL 2023 on Wednesday. Despite a poor start in IPL 2023, Mumbai has made a tremendous comeback. However, it is also true that this time too Mumbai’s bowling looked weak. The main reason for this was that this time Jasprit Bumrah was no longer with the team. The team spent a lot on Joffra Archer but he continued to be injured. But Mumbai Indians got the victory against Lucknow only because of the bowlers. Akash Madhwal was the hero of this victory. Hardly anyone knows the name of Akash Madhwal before May 15, 2023. But suddenly he has emerged as a hero for Mumbai.

The 29-year-old Madhwal bowled 3.3 overs in the match. In this, he got 5 wickets by giving 5 runs. He has become the first bowler to do so in the playoffs. But this is not the first time that Mumbai Indians are reaping the benefits of reposing faith in Madhwal. Earlier, in an important match of the league match, Akash Madhwal had achieved 4 successes by giving 37 runs in 4 overs against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He has taken 13 wickets in seven matches this season at an economy of 7.77 and a strike rate of 9.92. Akash Madhwal was not in cricket from the beginning. He started playing cricket as an amateur. Akash has studied engineering. After engineering, he turned towards cricket.

Till the age of 24, Akash had played only with tennis ball. He had never even touched a leather ball till then. But once in 2019, he went for trial in Uttarakhand. During this, he was noticed by the then coach of Uttarakhand and former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer. Wasim Jaffer selected Madhwal on behalf of the state. But it was only after former fast bowler Manish Jha became the coach of Uttarakhand that Madhwal started to blossom as a fast bowler. Akash Madhwal is a resident of Dhandera, Roorkee in Uttarakhand. Gradually he started playing for the state. In 2021, he was added by Bangalore as a net bowler. He remained unsold in the 2023 mega auction.

After Suryakumar Yadav got injured, he was added to his camp by Mumbai Indians. He did not get any chance to play in 2022. Even in 2023, Mumbai retained him in the team at a price of 20 lakhs. He got a chance to play in the team after Joffra was injured. Captain Rohit Sharma was very impressed with him. Rohit said after the match that he (Akash) was part of the team last year as a support bowler, and once Jofra went in and I knew he had the skills and character to do the job for us. At the same time, Akash said that I am practicing a lot and waiting for my chance. I have done engineering, cricket is my passion and I am waiting for it since 2018. Nicholas Pooran’s wicket was the most enjoyable for me.