Ashwini Kumar’s identical performance (Photo: PTI)
MI vs GT: Days, months, years passed. When the year changed, the new season of IPL also came. But Ashwini Kumar’s performance remained the same. There was a gap of 385 days between Ashwin Kumar’s performance on his debut in IPL and his performance against Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. But neither was there anything different in his actions then nor is it seen now. Not one or two, all four things were seen exactly in what the Mumbai Indians bowler did. Now seeing all this, it can be said that Ashwini Kumar took IPL into flashback.
Ashwini Kumar took IPL to flashback
Ashwini Kumar’s debut was in IPL 2025. On March 31, 2025, he played his first match against Kolkata Knight Riders, in which he took 4 wickets for 24 runs in 4 overs. When the year changed, the new season IPL 2026 came, in which Ashwini Kumar played his first match against Gujarat Titans. In this match played on 20 April 2026, Ashwini Kumar took 4 wickets for 24 runs in 4 overs. There was a gap of 385 days between these two performances of Ashwini Kumar on the IPL pitch.
385 days difference, still 4 similarities
Now 3 similarities have already been seen between Ashwini Kumar’s performance in IPL 2025 and IPL 2026. First, he took 4-4 wickets in both. Secondly, both were the first matches of their respective IPL seasons and thirdly, they gave 24-24 runs in both the matches. But apart from this there is also a fourth similarity. In both the matches, the first wicket taken by Ashwini Kumar was that of the captain. In IPL 2025, he took the first wicket of KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and in IPL 2026, he took the first wicket of Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill.
Pandya happy to see Ashwini repeating her performance
After the match, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya also expressed happiness over the performance of Ashwini Kumar, who took the IPL into flashback by repeating the 385-day-old feat. He said that it was good to see that Ashwini has repeated her performance. What he had done last year, he has done the same now.
