Mukesh Kumar will be next Mohammad Shami – ‘junior Lalettan,’ says R Ashwin | Cricket News

Mukesh Kumar, who impressed with his control in the first T20 game against Australia, could become the next Mohammad Shami, according to India spinner R Ashwin.
“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,” Ashwin told on his YouTube channel.
He then explained the reasons why he reckons Mukesh could be the next Shami.
“Mukesh Kumar has a similar build, similar height, outstanding wr position – he has that great whip of the wr and terrific back-spin on the ball. He has a very nice straight and nice alignment. He had bowled really well in the series in the West Indies and was outstanding at a practice game in Barbados,” said Ashwin.
Ashwin also narrated a little story about how Mukesh was noticed at a talent camp held in West Bengal.

“His story is outstanding, a very well-mannered boy. When Ganguly took over Cricket Association of Bengal, he had conducted a talent hunt, he had contracted Waqar Younis, VVS Laxman, and Muttiah Muralitharan for that talent hunt programme. Mukesh Kumar, who had gone in search of work to Kolkata, joined that talent hunt at Jadavpur university.
He was given a bib with his name and he was supposed to go to bowl when his name was called. But he had gone to the toilet at that time! 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,” says R Ashwin. “Waqar said that this boy is talented and will go a long way. He then went to play for Ranji Trophy where WV Raman was the coach, who further encouraged him,” Ashwin said.
Kumar had moved to Kolkata in 2012 to help his father’s taxi business, which was suffering losses. But he went against the wish of his father (Late Kashinath Singh), and started playing local matches in the second league for Rs 400-500.
“My father gave me a year and if nothing happens, I will work alongside him. But he was also the one, who knew that I wanted to play cricket and when I was not picked for the Indian Army, it was his suggestion that I must come to Kolkata with him and play cricket and help him out,” Kumar had once told The Indian Express.
In his first IPL, he went for a few runs in the initial games when Mohammad Shami came to his help.
“We were playing GT in Ahmedabad and he told me in the IPL you will go for runs. He said ‘Do your prayers everyday and prepare for the match with a mindset that you would go for 60 runs in four overs’. I laughed, but honestly, it worked. The fear of failure was gone.”