All posts tagged: IPL scouting

How Mumbai Indians scout talent and make them into stars

How Mumbai Indians scout talent and make them into stars

Published by Webster

An hour after sunset at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium on Monday, a star burst into the Mumbai Indians skyline. Ashwani Kumar, 23, claimed four wickets against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders to finish with the best figures for an Indian IPL debutant. The son of a farmer with modest means, Ashwani hails from village Jhanjheri near Mohali in Punjab. It’s a hinterland-to-starlight script made in Bollywood. Except there is a twist. Whereas thousands descend to India’s movie capital nursing superstar ambitions every day, Mumbai Indians take the opposite route. Their scouts travel far and wide, scour thousands of cricketers across obscure leagues, nondescript maidans and small towns around the country to discover their superstars. Present and former MI captains have doffed their hats to their reputed scout-squad that includes one-time India coach John Wright and former national selectors Kiran More and TA Sekhar. Over the years, the other unseen eyes scanning every corner of the country have belonged of top international stars like Robin Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Vinay Kumar, Paras Mhambrey and Parthiv Patel. …

‘It looked like he had that zip and late swing’: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya lauds debutant Ashwani Kumar’s match-winning performance vs KKR | Ipl News

‘It looked like he had that zip and late swing’: Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya lauds debutant Ashwani Kumar’s match-winning performance vs KKR | Ipl News

Published by Webster

Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya lavished praise on debutant Ashwani Kumar for his 4-wicket haul against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede on Monday. Pandya revealed that he decided to go with Ashwani after witnessing him in action in a practice game where he had zip and late swing, adding that he thought the 23-year-old had a pretty different action. “This wicket just offered a bit more and we thought Ashwani can come in and bowl the way he bowled. First of all, it’s all because of the scouts. All MI scouts have gone all the places and picked these young kids. We played a practice game and it looked like he had that zip and late swing, had a different action and plus he is a leftie. The way he took that wicket of Russell was a very crucial wicket,” Hardik said at the post-match chat. The MI skipper also singled out the moment the youngster gobbled up the catch of Quinton de Kock off Deepak Chahar’s bowling in the second over …