Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer recalled an interesting story about Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer Akash Madhwal from his stint as head coach of the Uttarakhand cricket team. Wasim Jaffer claimed that Akash Madhwal’s performance impressed him during the team’s trails four years ago.
Akash Madhwal is one of the best finds by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. The right-arm pacer picked up 13 wickets in seven matches, with an impressive average of 12.85 and an economy rate of 7.77. He impressed with his bowling in all phases of the game in the IPL 2023.
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Wasim Jaffer revealed that they picked Akash Madhwal, who had only played tennis ball cricket, for the state team following his performances in the trials in 2019.
“When I was Uttarakhand Head Coach this boy came for trials. He was 24-25 and had only played tennis ball cricket. We were so impressed with his pace we roped him in right away! The year was 2019, and that boy was Akash Madhwal. Proud of how far he’s come!” Wasim Jaffer tweeted.
When I was Uttarakhand Head Coach this boy came for trials. He was 24-25 and had only played tennis ball cricket. We were so impressed with his pace we roped him in right away! The year was 2019, and that boy was Akash Madhwal. Proud of how far he's come! #MIvsLSG #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/BH0RTeRKvz
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) May 25, 2023
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He Had Skills And The Character To Do The Job – Rohit Sharma
During the post-match presentation, MI skipper Rohit Sharma praised Akash Madhwal and said that he would represent India in the coming years.
“He was the part of the team last year as a support bowler, and once Jofra was gone and I knew he had skills and the character to do the job for us. Over the years we have seen many guys coming in from Mumbai Indians and playing for India,” Rohit told reporters.
The Uttarakhand pacer registered a match-winning figues of 5/5 in an 81-run victory over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2023 Eliminator in Chennai on Wednesday, May 24. The 29-year-old recorded the best figures by an uncapped player in the history of the tournament.
The Mumbai-based franchise will lock horns with the defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT) in the “Qualifier 2” match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 26. The Rohit Sharma-led team hasn’t lost a knockout game since the Qualifier 2 match in the 2017 edition.
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