Following an incredible display in the opening Twenty20 International match in Visakhapatnam against Australia, Mukesh Kumar has become the talk of the town. The 30-year-old threw up 29 runs in his four overs during a high-scoring match, with just five runs in the last over. Veteran cricketer R Ashwin praised the bowler and examined his skill set after witnessing his amazing performance.
According to R Ashwin, Mukesh and India pacer Mohammed Shami are comparable in terms of height, build, and wrist posture. He mentioned that the pacer has performed well in the West Indies and that he shares Shami’s excellent whip and straight alignment. He added that although at first he believed Mohammed Siraj had the potential to follow in Shami’s footsteps, he now supports Mukesh in doing so.
“Although I now believe Mukesh Kumar might replace Mohammad Siraj as the junior Shami, that was my initial idea. Mukesh is comparable in height and build, and he has an excellent wrist position that allows him to produce fantastic backspin on the ball and a tremendous wrist whip. He is incredibly well-aligned and straight. On his YouTube account, Ashwin posted, “He had bowled really well in the West Indies series and was outstanding at a practice game in Barbados.”
R Ashwin tells the Indian squad about Mukesh’s journey.
Ashwin described how a few deliveries changed Mukesh Kumar’s life. Notably, the Cricket Association of Bengal conducted a talent discovery program under Sourav Ganguly, which is where Mukesh was initially discovered. After a few years, Mukesh bowled a few deliveries to buy himself a ticket to India, but he missed his name being called. Just as one of the specialists, Waqar Younis, was ready to depart, Mukesh bought the ticket.
“Ganguly hired Waqar Younis, VVS Laxman, and Muttiah Muralitharan for the talent search campaign. Imagine yourself at the bathroom, about to bowl in front of Waqar Younis. His name had been called, but he was nowhere to be seen! After a half hour, he came back and informed them that his name had not been called. At that moment, Waqar Younis, who was on his way out, instructed him to bowl a few balls. He is currently bowling for India because those two deliveries transformed his life, Ashwin said.
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