JOIN USHow Madhwal 'engineered' his way up from 'nets'
Akash Madhwal’s figures from Wednesday night might not be the best ever in the 16 editions of the Indian Premier League, but a haul of 5/5 in a T20 match is as rare as his franchise Mumbai Indians not making the play-offs.
The 29-year-old might have had little inkling of addressing a press conference when his team is littered with world-class talent. Then again, figures of five for five in 21 balls, irrespective of the significance of the game, will yield a spot on the podium.
Just for context, Mumbai were defending 183 runs in the Eliminator against a well-oiled Lucknow Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram stadium. Krunal Pandya’s men have been exceptional all season long and were fancied to survive the do-or-die clash.
The 29-year-old from Dhandera had other plans, and Mumbai won by 81 runs.
Only four years ago, Madhwal was a civil engineer with small-town dreams of a jolly-good time as a local tennis-ball-cricket hero.
Somewhere along the way, he figured he may as well give red-ball cricket a go and attended Uttarakhand state trials in 2018. Perhaps, his immediate neighbour’s - Rishabh Pant - dramatic rise to the highest echelons of cricket was the push he needed.
Then-coach of Uttarakhand Wasim Jaffer and current coach Manish Jha watched on as Madhwal’s raw talent was too obvious to ignore.
Accuracy concerns allayed during Covid-19, Madhwal looked moderately polished in his debut season for Uttarakhand, picking up 12 wickets in 10 Ranji Trophy games, 18 in 17 one-dayers, and 24 scalps from 22 T20s at a stingy economy.
Not enough to be blooded into an IPL team right away, but enough to earn time in the ‘nets’.
“When you get a chance, you need to grab that chance,” said Madhwal after the Eliminator with a couple of shrugs and plenty of giggling.
“After leaving engineering and a job, I am following a passion even though there was not much at home. It's been hard work. When you enjoy your passion, you chill and do it happily. There wasn't any burden on me to play cricket. It was my passion. That's why I am playing.”
With Jasprit Bumrah ruled out (and Jofra Archer eventually), Madhwal got his first taste of the big league on May 3 in Mohali against Punjab Kings, and it wasn’t particularly great (3-0-37-0). His first scalp came the very next game when he dismissed Chennai Super Kings’ Devon Conway. He only bowled the one over that evening.
Then came the three-wicket burst against the Gujarat Titans, followed by a four-wicket haul against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Madhwal was beginning to feel at home on the biggest stage. Soon enough, he matched Anil Kumble’s figures of 3.1-1-5-5 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Rajasthan Royals in Cape Town in 2009.
Ironically, it was RCB who brought him in for his first IPL 'nets' experience in 2019. Mumbai’s scouts, however, were bent on acquiring his services, if nothing else to keep their world-class batsmen engaged.
Madhwal settled into Mumbai’s moulding system in 2020, and was told he would get a look in should he stick to the process. He did that and began to trust himself and the skills he naturally possesses.
“Tennis ball se toh sirf yorker seekha hai, wohi implement karta hoon (From tennis ball, I've only learnt the yorker. I implement just that). There is actually only this one ball (yorker) to survive in tennis ball cricket. If you bowl up or down, you will be hit for a six. Your yorkers need to be perfect in tennis ball cricket. That's what I do.”
Mumbai have a way of spotting them, don’t they?