Rushil Ugarkar, manifesting bowling the Malinga way
By MI New York Media
You know you’ve pulled off a heist when you’ve managed to defend 12 off the final over of a T20. The heist becomes even more epic when it happens to be with Glenn Maxwell and Glenn Phillips at the crease. The epic becomes legendary when the context is that of a League Final.
This is Rushil Ugarkar, the 22-year-old right-arm pacer. He’s uncapped in the international scene. But that’s not stopping him from wanting to bowl the tough overs. That’s not stopping him from stepping up and grabbing the role of MI New York’s designated death overs specialist in the 2025 season of the MLC.
Hardened in the Mumbai Indians camp as a support player during IPL 2025, Ugarkar found the slingy wings of the master, Lasith Malinga, the team’s Bowling Coach, who was also MINY’s Bowling Coach in 2024.
“I spent a lot of time with Malinga in the previous year as well. We worked a lot on my death bowling. Being in situations which are high pressure, doing those sessions paid off today,” he says in a chat with MINY after his incredible heist of nailing the 20th over to get MINY over the line in the MLC Final.
“I noticed couple of things in his training routines. Every time he goes to a net session before a game, he kind of manifests how he’s going to bowl to each player and how he’s going to get them out. That’s something I wanted to add to my game as well. Before every game at the practice sessions, I would do that as well,” he added.
Rushil had a pretty tough initiation to the MLC this year. He bowled the 19th over against the Washington Freedom in the league stage, defending 17 off 12, and was at the receiving end of Mark Chapman’s back-to-back boundaries that saw the match go past MINY’s reach. He impressed immediately in the following game against the Seattle Orcas, where he managed to keep Shimron Hetmyer quiet, conceding just three runs in the 17th over, and a miserly 29 runs in his four overs.
It was the game against the Texas Super Kings where he faced his sternest test. Donovan Ferreira smashed him for a couple of sixes off the first two balls of the last over of the innings. Rushil, in trying to get defensive, went wide outside off, but in the process, went way past the tramline five balls in a row. To come back from that and produce a gem of a final over in the Final tells you about his character. You need some serious nerves of steel.
“The entire squad has been really supportive,” Rushil said. “They have backed me all through. Even after getting hit, they kept me in the team and just kept giving me confidence and telling me ‘you got this, keep giving your 100% every ball’.”
The redemption arc is complete. A star is unearthed. Rushil is here to stay. And conquer!
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“It’s a tough pill to swallow”
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