The Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) has been a great platform for the young players in Maharashtra. It is a very great opportunity for Maharashtra cricketers and the new season of MPL has already started on June 15, 2023. Today, we will talk about one of the youngsters, Arshin Kulkarni, who is playing for the Eagle Nashik Titans in this year’s MPL. Some people also see him as the next Hardik Pandya as well.
Who is Arshin Kulkarni?
The 22-year-old youngster from Solapur, Maharashtra is an Indian cricket player, currently playing in MPL 2023. An all-rounder, a right-handed batsman, batting in the top order, and also a right-arm medium pacer as well. Arshin Kulkarni also played for the Maharashtra Uner-19 team before.
Arshin Kulkarni played a match-winning knock against Puneri Bappa
In the 7th match of MPL, Arshin Kulkarni played a match-winning knock against Puneri Bappa. Puneri Bappa won the toss and elected to field first.
The Eagles lost their first wicket for 24 runs. After that, Captain R Tripathi joined Arshin Kulkarni at the crease. The pair went on to add 131 runs for the 2nd wicket. R Tripathi got out for 41 off 28 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes.
Arshin Kulkarni didn’t even stop there. He continues to play well and scored a century. Arshin got out on 117 in 54 balls with 3 fours and 13 sixes. The Eagles made 203 in the first inning.
Arshin showed his all-round skills
Not only with the bat, Arshin Kulkarni also contributed with the ball in the 2nd inning. The right-arm medium pacer took 4 wickets and gave away only 21 runs in his 4 overs. It was a close encounter between the Eagles Nashik Titans and Puneri Bappa as the Eagles won the game just by one run.
Ruturaj Gaikwad led the run chase with his 50 off just 23 balls. But his effort was not enough to get the team over the line. Yash and Rohan also played a cameo of 47 and 33 for Puneri. P Solanki also took 2 wickets in the 2nd inning.
For his all-round performance, Arshin Kulkarni was given the man of the match.
Arshin Kulkarni – The next Hardik Pandya?
Now, people saw him as the next Hardik Pandya as the Indian Team is looking for someone like Hardik Pandya, who gives balance to the side. The team would like to have someone who contributes with both bat and ball equally, just like Hardik Pandya.
In the past few years, Team India tried a few all-rounders like Vijay Shankar and Shivam Dube, but they haven’t done as per the expectations. Shardul Thakur also will be seen as a fast-bowling all-rounder. But he is more of a bowling all-rounder. And Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja is a spin-bowling all-rounder. Team India is looking for a pace-bowling all-rounder who can do well in both departments. Arshin Kulkarni might be seen for this role.
Too early to judge
It might be too early to judge him as the sample size is too small. Also, he hasn’t played any domestic cricket yet. But he will be on the radar of the IPL team scouts as every year, the IPL franchises look after the new talent.
We might see Arshin Kulkarni playing in the IPL 2024. It will be a great opportunity for him to showcase his talent and to get the right exposure to play in a high-pressure tournament.
Arshin’s performance in MPL 2023
He has played 3 games so far in MPL 2023 and he scored 195 runs. His scores in those 3 games are 60, 18, and 117.
Arshin also took 5 wickets in 3 games. 4 of which came in just one game.
Will he be the next Hardik Pandya?
Arshin Kulkarni has the ability and the skills to be the next all-rounder in Indian cricket after Hardik Pandya. It will be interesting to see if he continues to perform well. Also, he is just 18 years old. And he has so much time to upskill himself.
Right now, his team is sitting at No. 1 in the points table with 3 wins in 4 games. Ratnagiri Jets and Kolhapur Tuskers also won 3 games but the Eagles have a better net run rate (NRR) than these two.
Conclusion
The Eagles’ next game will be against Kolhapur Tuskers on June 24. It will be a day game and will also be the last league stage game before the qualifiers. The team will hope that Arshin Kulkarni continues his good form throughout the tournament. He can make a huge impact in the team’s success.
All the matches of MPL 2023 are taking place at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium.
What do you think? Will Arshin Kulkarni be the next Hardik Pandya? Or will he be the next big all-rounder in world cricket? Fill in the comment section with your answers.
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