The Eliminator clash of IPL 2023 played between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians saw Mumbai getting the better of the third-placed Lucknow to convincingly seal for themselves a berth in the Qualifier 2. Batting first, MI put 182 runs on the board and kept LSG were confined to a score of 101 runs to steal a massive 81-run victory. On the bowling front, it was MI’s newest sensation Akash Madhwal who claimed a fifer to run havoc through the LSG batting unit.
Akash has been in red-hot form in the ongoing season and has shaped himself as the driving force of MI’s Indian bowling power. The game against LSG wasn’t any different either as he bowled 21 balls, where he gave only five runs and in turn claimed five massive wickets. He gave MI their first breakthrough by getting rid of Prerak Mankad in his very first over. Incidentally, he also picked up the last wicket of LSG’s innings by sending back Mohsin Khan who succumbed to a peach of a delivery from Akash that straight away rattled the wickets.
After losing Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer to injuries, MI had a mountain to climb in finding a suitable fit in their bowling order. While Arshad Khan and Arjun Tendulkar did give occasional cheers, it was Akash Madhwal who came closest to filling in for the missing pieces. Akash returned wonderful performances in MI’s crucial matches against Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Hailing from Dhandera region of Roorkee, Uttarakhand, Madhwal’s story starts a few years back when he was first spotted by former Indian opener, Wasim Jaffer. Akash hails from Roorkee in Uttarakhand and in 2019, he had gone to the trials for Uttarakhand’s state team which, back then, was being coached by Jaffer. Jaffer was left seemingly impressed by the young bowler’s discipline and striking abilities and that changed the fortunes of Madhwal. Madhwal not only made it to the state team but also rose to become its white-ball captain within three years.
Madhwal also happens to be the first cricketer from Uttarakhand’s state team to feature in the IPL. Although Rishabh Pant does hail from Uttarakhand, he played domestic cricket for Delhi before breaking into the IPL. Interestingly, Madhwal and Pant happened to be neighbours in Uttarakhand and trained under the same coach, Avatar Singh.
Madhwal had a brilliant academic career as well, having pursued B. Tech in Civil Engineering from Roorkee.
Akash Madhwal in IPL
While we all know Madhwal as an MI star today, it was actually Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he started his IPL career from. He was roped in by RCB as a net bowler in IPL 2021 but failed to impress them as the right-arm pacer had to go unsold in the 2022 season. However, mid-way through the season, MI called him up as a replacement for Suryakumar Yadav who had injured himself and had to be ruled out. Madhwal managed to retain his place in the MI squad for the 2023 season as well.
