Under Ashwin’s wings, young Mujeeb takes flight

Rare is an Indian Premier League team that has a frontline bowler as their captain. In the latest edition of the tournament, Ravichandran Ashwin stands out in a crowd of batsmen as the only bowler leading a side.

He has done an excellent job so far, with his team Kings XI Punjab winning six out of nine games to sit at No.3 on the points table.

Punjab have had their high performers. Chris Gayle and KL Rahul have done exceedingly well at the top, with Karun Nair, among others, chipping in from the middle order. With the ball, the stars have been Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Andrew Tye, both with 12 wickets at this stage, but Mujeeb with an economy rate of 6.85 compared to Tye’s 7.69.

Among frontline bowlers, only Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Sandeep Sharma has a better economy of 5.31, but he has bowled just 19 overs compared to Mujeeb’s 35.

That’s some performance, in what is the young Afghan spinner’s first IPL appearance. He might have done well anyway, considering the brilliant performances he had put up in the lead up to the IPL, especially at the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 — 17 wickets in eight games — but having a spinner as his captain is clearly helping.

“Leadership plays an important role in a player’s development and Mujeeb’s improved performance has a lot to do with playing under the wings of Ashwin,” said Brad Hodge, the Punjab coach, during an interaction on the sidelines of the tournament.

“Mujeeb has shown a great level of composure. At such young age, he has confidence in his abilities. I would also give credit to Ashwin’s leadership skills. He has been very encouraging. Good leaders help talented players get to the next level.”

Ashwin, who had limited captaincy experience before the IPL but was thrown in at the deep end once Punjab ended the auction with a wonderful bunch of players but no standout option for the leadership, agrees that his understanding of a bowler’s psyche might be helping the team.

“Most of our wins have been set up by our bowlers, our 12 points have been set up by the bowlers in the tournament. And that’s something that’s really pleasing, because we know that one of our departments is firing on all cylinders,” said Ashwin after Punjab beat Rajasthan Royals on Sunday, with Mujeeb winning the Player of the Match award for his sterling 3/27.

“At least if they get hit, they’ll play another game — that’s the guarantee they all have. Bowlers will get hit in the format. The ones who let me down today will win the game tomorrow. That’s the only perspective I came in with. Thankfully all of them are going well.”

Mujeeb, 17, has been the best of a good attack. He has picked up at least one wicket in all but two games, and has built on the big reputation he came in with: An off-spinner who bowls a lot of wrist-spin, throws in leg-breaks and googlies, changes his pace well and can be trusted to bowl in the Powerplay and in the death overs.

Communication is tough, though, as Mujeeb doesn’t speak any English and relies on a translator to get his point across if needed.

“Mujeeb is a very simple human being,” said Hodge. “Therefore, it is important that one makes him aware about the various processes without making it complicated. Communication is one issue but we have very capable assistant coaches, who would pass any specific message that needs to be conveyed to him.”

It’s gone well so far, for Mujeeb, and for Ashwin and Punjab. And looking at his performances, the lack of communication might not matter much in the end analysis.