"Akash Madhwal emerged as a diamond" - Aakash Chopra lauds Mumbai Indians seamer's performances in IPL 2023

Aakash Chopra has pointed out that Akash Madhwal emerged as a jewel in the Mumbai Indians' bowling lineup in IPL 2023.

MI were hit hard due to Jasprit Bumrah's absence and Jofra Archer's partial availability in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League. They gave chances to a couple of domestic seamers in the form of Mohammad Arshad Khan and Arjun Tendulkar, who didn't enjoy great success, before Madhwal made the most of the opportunity given to him.

While reflecting on the Mumbai Indians' IPL 2023 campaign in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra named Madhwal as one of the best uncapped Indian players of the tournament:

"Akash Madhwal emerged as a diamond. If you were to pick five uncapped Indians - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Akash Madhwal, Rinku Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma and Suyash Sharma - these are the kind of names that come to your mind and he is right up there."

The former Indian opener highlighted the Uttarakhand seamer's interesting journey as a cricketer:

"He didn't play all the matches. His story is extremely beautiful. He started as a tennis-ball cricketer. He had even left cricket, did engineering and took up a job. Rishabh Pant was his neighbor and he used to like watching him play."

Chopra added:

"Then Uttarakhand got a Ranji team and he went for the trials. He met Wasim Jaffer there, who said that he doesn't bowl with the leather ball but he had speed. So he was prepared for one year with the leather ball and the rest as they say is history."

Madhwal has picked up just 12 wickets in the 10 first-class matches he has played. He has given a better account of himself in limited-overs cricket, having accounted for 18 and 38 dismissals in 17 and 30 List A and T20 matches respectively.

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"He was absolutely solid gold" - Aakash Chopra on Akash Madhwal's penetrative spells for the Mumbai Indians

Akash Madhwal dismantled the Lucknow Super Giants' batting lineup in the Eliminator. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra concluded by pointing out that Akash Madhwal bowled a few match-defining spells for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023:

"He was a part of RCB as well as a net bowler. He didn't get a chance there. He didn't get to play from the start this year as well but once he started playing - 5/5 against Lucknow, four wickets against the SunRisers Hyderabad and three wickets before that as well - outstanding. He was absolutely solid gold."

Madhwal snared 14 wickets at an acceptable economy of 8.58 in the eight matches he played for MI in this season's IPL. He registered sensational figures of 5/5 to help Rohit Sharma and Co. annihilate the Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in the Eliminator.