Akash Madhwal: Engineer, who played tennis-ball cricket, and now filling the big boots of Jasprit Bumrah
Akash Madhwal has become the first cricketer from the Uttarakhand state cricket team to play in the Indian Premier League. (IPL)
Four years ago, Akash Madhwal was playing tennis ball cricket across Uttarakhand and in the Western Uttar Pradesh region. When he attended the trials in 2019, he immediately caught the attention of the then Uttarakhand coach Wasim Jaffer and present coach Manish Jha.
For someone who has not played with the red ball till the age of 24, Akash has become the first cricketer from the Uttarakhand state cricket team to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"When he came for the trials in 2019. We all were very impressed. He is skiddy and quick with a smooth action. There was an X-factor in him. Wasim bhai roped him in straight away and gave him a match against Karnataka in Syed Mushtaq Ali. He was wayward and looked underprepared. Next year, during the Covid, when the Ranji Trophy got cancelled and I took up the job of head coach, I told him that he will play all three formats, no matter if he went for runs. I assured him that he would get to play all the matches," Jha, head coach of Uttarakhand, told The Indian Express.
"Since he played a lot of tennis ball cricket, the pace was there but it was accuracy that he was lacking. He used to experiment a lot with his bowling. My only concern was, if you can bowl quick and straight, why are you going for the slower one. Slowly he got what we were trying to tell him, and you can see the result," he added.
Last year, Madhawal joined Mumbai Indians as an injury replacement for Suryakumar Yadav and now he has become Rohit Sharma's go-to bowler, be it with the new ball or in end overs.
Last week, he showed his skill with the new ball against the defending champions Gujarat Titans by taking the wickets of Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill and David Miller. On Sunday afternoon, he stepped up for Mumbai Indians in the death overs, when Sunrisers Hyderabad were looking on course for a total of 220-plus.
The 29-year-old Madhwal, first ended the 140-run opening stand between Vivrant Sharma and Mayank Agarwal by removing the former. In his next over, he got rid of Agarwal, but he saved his best for his last over. After removing the in-form Heinrich Klaasen, he produced a toe-crushing yorker to account for Harry Brook's wicket.
Ahead of this year's domestic season, Madhwal was made the captain of the Uttarakhand white-ball team, which was a vindication of the improvement he had made in quick time.
Akash Madhawal has become Rohit Sharma's go-to bowler. (IPL)
"All the athletes are hard-working but what makes the difference is their temperament. Last year, when I made him the white-ball captain, he stepped up and responded so well. In the IPL, you can see he is ready to bowl with the new ball. He used the new ball exceptionally well against Gujarat Titans and now in the death against the Sunrisers. It is just so good to see him doing well in the IPL. He will become a role model to so many youngsters in Uttarakhand," said Jha.
Madhwal, who hails from Dhandera in Roorkee, is a neighbour of Rishabh Pant and completed his engineering before showing keen interest in cricket. He honed his skill under Avtar Singh, who had trained Pant before he moved to Delhi.
"Akash's home is in front of Rishabh's. They are neighbours. Rishabh has played under me before he went to Delhi to train under the late Tarak Sinha sir," said Avtar.
Madhwal lost his father, who was in the Indian Army, in a tragedy back in 2013.
"Madhwal was focussed on his education, was doing engineering and played cricket only as a hobby. Since Uttarakhand was not playing in the Ranji Trophy, his main focus was on tennis ball cricket. He was a terror in the tennis ball cricket tournaments," said Singh.
from Sports | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/5vraSYn
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