In a discussion on his official YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed that initially, upon meeting Mohammed Siraj, he anticipated that he will become the understudy of Mohammed Shami. However, Ashwin’s perspective shifted when he saw Mukesh Kumar, leading him to believe that the 30-year-old could be the emerging counterpart to the leading wicket-taker of the 2023 ODI World Cup.Ashwin highlighted the similarities in build, height and wrist position between Mukesh, aged 30, and the 33-year-old Shami.
Additionally, Ashwin praised Mukesh for possessing a remarkable wrist action and impressive backspin on the ball.
“I initially thought Mohammad Siraj would become the junior Shami, but I now feel it could be Mukesh Kumar. Shami is called ‘Lala’ and as a tribute to the actor Mohanlal who is called Lalettan, I call Shami Lalettan,” said Ashwin.
“Mukesh has a similar build, similar height and outstanding wrist position. He has that great whip of the wrist and terrific backspin on the ball. He has a very nice straight and nice alignment,” Ashwin said.
The top-ranked Test bowler also reminisced about the moment when Waqar Younis transformed Mukesh’s career after observing just two of his deliveries.
“Imagine, you are going to bowl in front of Waqar Younis, and you were at the toilet. They had called out his name but he wasn’t there! He returned, waited for 30 minutes and told them that his name wasn’t called out. It was then that Waqar Younis, who was about to leave, told him to bowl a couple of balls. Those two deliveries changed his life and he is now bowling for India,” Ashwin added.
Mukesh marked his entry into international cricket on July 20 this year. Since then, he has played 10 matches for India, securing nine wickets.
The 30-year-old has earned a spot in the five-match T20I series against Australia. In the inaugural match of the series, Mukesh did not manage to claim any wickets but conceded only 29 runs.
(With ANI inputs)