Nehal Wadhera

Nehal Wadhera
Personal information
Born (2000-09-04) 4 September 2000 (age 24)
Ludhiana, Punjab, India
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm legbreak
RoleTop order batter
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2023–presentPunjab
2023Mumbai Indians (squad no. 19)
Career statistics
Competition [IPL]
Matches 25
Runs scored 576
Batting average 21.35
100s/50s 0/2
Top score 56
Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 20 April 2023

Nehal Wadhera (born 4 September 2000) is an Indian cricketer, who is a left-handed batsman and an occasional legbreak bowler.[1] He plays for Punjab cricket team in domestic cricket, having previously represented the India under-19 cricket team.[2]

Biography

Wadhera was born at Ludhiana, a city in the Indian state of Punjab.[3] He first started playing cricket at the age of nine. Initially, he used to play as a specialist batsman and put in long hours to work on his fitness.[4] He is often referred to by his nickname "new-age Yuvraj Singh" for his middle-order performances and similarity in batting style with Yuvraj Singh.[5][6] He started playing cricket under the guidance of his childhood coach Charanjit Bhangu. He was coached by Harjinder Singh in age level cricket, who saw "glimpses of Yuvraj" on him.[7] He received his coaching at the Ludhiana District Cricket Association, and was graduated from Satish Chander Dhawan Government College.[8]

Early career

He played for Punjab under-16 and under-19 cricket teams in Vijay Merchant Trophy and Cooch Behar Trophy from 2015 to 2018, with 529 runs in the 2017–18 season.[9] He was then selected to play for different tiers of India under-19 cricket team.[10] He made his under-19 debut for India on 17 July 2018, against Sri Lanka in a four-day match and scored 82 runs.[11] He also became the third cricketer from Ludhiana to play for India at any level.[12] In August 2018, he was named in India's squad for the 2016 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup.[13]

In April 2022, during the semi-final of Inter-District U-23 Cricket Championship, he smashed 578 runs in an innings, surpassing Brian Lara's record of highest score in an innings in a four-day match.[14] He also became the fastest player to reach 200, 300, 400 and 500 runs in any level of recognized cricket, and was honoured by Junior Chamber International for his record.[15]

Domestic career

In December 2020, Wadhera was named in Punjab's squad for the 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.[16] In December 2022, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians at a price of ₹20 lakh, to play for them in the Indian Premier League.[17] He became the third player from Ludhiana district to get IPL call-up.[18]

In January 2023, he was selected to play for Punjab in the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy.[19] He made his first-class debut for Punjab on 3 January 2023, against Gujarat.[20] He made a match-winning century in his debut match, scoring 123 runs guiding Punjab to a 380-run victory.[21] He struck his maiden double hundred in his just third first-class game,[22] scoring 214 runs against Madhya Pradesh on 18 January 2023.[23] He won the player of the match award,[24] and finished his maiden first-class season with 376 runs from seven innings.[25]

He made his Twenty20 debut for Mumbai Indians on 2 April 2023, against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2023 Indian Premier League.[26] He impressed on his debut match,[27] scoring a quick fire 21 runs off 13 balls including two sixes.[28] On 6 May 2023, he scored his maiden IPL half-century against the Chennai Super Kings.[29] He scored 241 runs from 14 innings in that IPL season.[30] In June 2023, he was replaced by Jayant Yadav, to play for North Zone in the 2023 Duleep Trophy.[31] He made his List A debut for Punjab on 23 November 2023, against Baroda in the 2023–24 Vijay Hazare Trophy.[32]

International career

In July 2023, he was named in India A's squad as a standby player for the 2023 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup.[33]

References

  1. ^ "Profile: Nehal Wadhera". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Teams Nehal Wadhera played for". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Profile: Nehal Wadhera". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Who Is Nehal Wadhera? All You Need To Know About The Young MI Sensation". CricWatcher. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Ludhiana's Nehal Wadhera's direct hit secures victory for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023". True Scoop News. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Mumbai Indians' Debutant Nehal Wadhera Hits Ball Out Of M Chinnaswamy Stadium". Zee News. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Left is right for Nehal Wadhera". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Ludhiana lad Nehal picked up by Mumbai Indians". Hindustan Times. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Who Is Mumbai Indians Starlet Nehal Wadhera, The U23 Quintuple Centurion Who Blasted An Out-Of-Stadium Six On IPL Debut?". Wisden. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Ludhiana Cricketer Nehal Wadhera To Captain India "A" U-19 Cricket Team". 5 Dariya News. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Ludhiana lad debuts international cricket with a smashing six". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Nehal Wadhera 3rd Cricketer From Ludhiana To Play At International Level". 5 Dariya News. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Prab Simran Singh makes it to India U-19 Asia Cup squad". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  14. ^ "Nehal Wadhera sets new record, smashes 578 runs". Tribute India. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  15. ^ "JCI honours Nehal for creating Cricket's World Record of 578 runs". ANI News. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Yuvraj Singh named in Punjab's 30-man probables' list for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Nehal Wadhera - All you need to know about MI's young sensation". CricTracker. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Nehal makes it to IPL, 3rd player from district". Tribute India. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Full squads, Fixtures & Preview: All you need to know". Cricket World. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  20. ^ "3–5 January 2023, Punjab vs Gujarat, 2022/23 Ranji Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  21. ^ "Nehal Wadhera, the run-machine who once scored 578 runs in an innings". Cricket.com. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  22. ^ "Wadhera's double century, Desai's 6-fer highlights Day 2 of Ranji Trophy Round-6". OneCricket. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Ranji Trophy: Nehal's double-ton puts Punjab in commanding position against MP". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  24. ^ "Who is Nehal Wadhera, the latest IPL debutant for Mumbai Indians?". Cricxtasy. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  25. ^ "MI Star Tracker - Ranji Trophy 2022-23". Mumbai Indians. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  26. ^ "2 April 2023, Mumbai Indians vs RCB, 2023 Indian Premier League". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  27. ^ "Nehal Wadhera, the Mumbai Indians batter who impressed on IPL debut". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  28. ^ "RCB vs MI, Indian Premier League 2023, 5th Match at Bengaluru, April 02, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  29. ^ "IPL 2023: Nehal Wadhera posts maiden fifty, spells by Deshpande, Pathirana help CSK restrict MI to 139/8". The News Mill. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Nehal Wadhera - The rise, and the rise of the new 'Prince of Ludhiana'". Mumbai Indians. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  31. ^ "Duleep Trophy: Injured Mandeep out, Jayant Yadav to lead North Zone; Wadhera named replacement". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  32. ^ "BRODA vs PNJB, Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023/24, Group E at Thana, November 23, 2023 - Full Scorecard". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  33. ^ "India A squad for ACC Men's Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2023 announced". Board of Control for Cricket in India. Retrieved 4 July 2023.