Mumbai Indians pacer Akash Madhwal has turned heads following his outstanding performance against the Lucknow Super Kings in Eliminator of the 2023 Indian Premier League. His journey from tennis ball cricket to playing a vital role for Mumbai Indians has been incredible. Till five years back, he was a tennis ball bowler, who had made a great impact playing local tournaments.
Ashish Madhwal, Akash’s brother revealed an interesting story about the pacer. He expressed that Akash’s bowling had terrorised the local leagues near Roorkee, his hometown. He added that people were so scared of his bowling that he was banned from the local tournaments. Speaking to India Today, Ashish Madhwal said,
“When he was working after his engineering, people would come every day and say don’t go to work today, come play in our team and we will pay you. And from there he transitioned to the leather ball after his trials at Uttarakhand.”
“Nobody let him play here. There was a lot of fear of his bowling. So, he was banned from the local tournaments. Dar ka mahoul tha. Akash used to go outside of Roorkee and play. But yeah, his tennis ball days are done. He is so, so happy right now,” he added.
Ex-players 🤝 Broadcasters 🤝Legends 🤩 🤝 Us 🤝 praising Akash for his magnificent feat 🎯💙#OneFamily #LSGvMI #MumbaiMeriJaan #MumbaiIndians #IPL2023 #TATAIPLhttps://t.co/gPkLa7HbUA
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) May 25, 2023
Rohit Sharma trusts his players and backs them: Ashish Madhwal
Akash Madhwal’s brother Ashish was all praise for the Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma. He expressed that Rohit Sharma backs the players, and has helped Akash Madhwal to perform up to his potential in the 2023 Indian Premier League. Ashish also revealed that Rohit Sharma had said to the pacer in 2022 that he would get a chance next season.
“The thing with Rohit bhai is that he gives players chances. He trusts his players and backs them. A new player is always scared for his position in the team. And Rohit has taken away that scare and Akash is delivering now,” said Ashish Madhwal.
“When Suryakumar got injured in 2022, with 2/3 matches remaining, MI announced him as a replacement for the batter. That was their way of showing faith in Akash that he would be picked for the IPL 2023 squad. Rohit had told him that he would get a chance to play in the 2023 season,” he added.
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