11 Interesting facts about Murugan Ashwin

The IPL Auctions 2016 saw a lot of eye-grabbing bids. While some of the big stars missed out, this year’s auction certainly proved to be the auction for a few Indian rookies. The man who perhaps made the biggest leap of faith was M Ashwin, who was picked up by the Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping 4.5 crores. His rise from the base price of 10 Lakhs is a big plus for the man for sure. But who is M Ashwin? Here are some interesting facts about Murugan Ashwin – the biggest gainer at the IPL 2016 Auction.

1. Early life:

Murugan Ashwin was born on September 8, 1990, at Chennai. He is the son of Era Murugan, a Tamil movie scriptwriter. His father was the scriptwriter for the famous Tamil flick Billa 2, a movie that starred Ajith Kumar.

2. Father’s love:

His father was highly delighted as his son got picked in the auctions in the grandest of manners. Soon after M Ashwin bagged 4.5 crores, his father tweeted, “M.ashwin, my son, acquired by Raising Pune Super Giants team for 4.5c #IPL2016”.

3. Connection with the other Ashwin:

While many might wonder if there is a link between M Ashwin and the Indian ace spinner R Ashwin, they would be perhaps correct with the guess. M Ashwin studied and graduated from the same college in which Ashwin studied. Both the Ashwin’s graduated from Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering in Chennai. While Ravi Ashwin is an off-spinner, M Ashwin bowls leg-break.

4. Hailed by the Namesake:

M Ashwin and R Ashwin are close friends and Ravi Ashwin highly rates this rookie spinner from Tamil Nadu. Ashwin showed his happiness when his fellow college mate was picked up by the Rising Pune Supergiants at the Auction.

5. Playing style:

He is a leg break bowler who bowls an impressively disguised googly. His googly was highly successful for him during the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

6. First-class debut:

He made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu against Odisha in the 2012 Ranji Trophy. The sad news for the 22-year-old was that 3 days of the game was washed out and he did not get a chance to bowl. He was highly expensive in the next match against Karnataka and ended up with figures of 1/176.

7. List A debut:

His List A debut came against Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2016. He bowled alongside Ravi Ashwin and picked up 3/38 in 7.2 overs that he bowled picking up the key wicket of centurion A Herwadkar. Tamil Nadu won the match by 26 runs.

8. First-class career and List A career:

His figures in first-class and List A cricket do not justify his caliber at all and can be misleading. Having played just 3 first-class matches, he has only one wicket to his name. In List A cricket, he has 3 wickets in 2 matches.

9. What made him fetch 4.5 crores?

His domestic career hasn’t been great so far but it was during the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that he made his mark. Having played 6 matches, he picked up 10 wickets at an economy under 6 and strike rate close to 14. It was this impressive show that made him fetch the big bucks at the auction.

10. Teams he has played for:

He has represented Tamil Nadu in first-class cricket and was also a part of TNCA President’s XI. Now he will be seen playing for the Rising Pune Supergiants at the IPL 2016.

11. High price at IPL Auctions:

In terms of hike from the base price to the sold price, M Ashwin made the biggest gain, a multiple of 45 times from his original base price. His base price was 10 Lakhs, but the bidders showed great interest in buying him and eventually it was the Rising Pune Supergiants who bagged him for a whopping 4.5 crores.

Another surprise pick for 2 crores was Krunal Pandya. Who is he? – 7 Interesting facts about Krunal Pandya