Nehal Wadhera had not played a single T20 game before IPL 2023. A largely unknown entity coming into the tournament, Mumbai Indians made sure to back him, giving him a consistent run in the side, and he repaid the franchise's faith with a 21-ball 40 against Gujarat Titans, followed by a 51-ball 64 against Chennai Super Kings.
On Tuesday, with Mumbai chasing 200, Wadhera went a step further, scoring an unbeaten 34-ball 52 as he forged a 140-run stand off 66 balls with Suryakumar Yadav to take his side home. Coming in at the end of the fifth over, with Mumbai having lost both openers in the space of three balls, at no point did Wadhera seem out of his depth. Even with Suryakumar going berserk at one end, the 22-year-old kept his cool to stay till the end. But, who is Wadhera and how did he end up with Mumbai despite not having any prior T20 experience?
Wadhera was called up for trials last year by Rajasthan Royals, but he could not make the cut. He went back to his home state of Punjab, where he took part in an U-23 tournament. Playing for Ludhiana, in one of the innings, he smashed 578 off just 414 balls, which included 42 fours and 37 sixes. The innings elevated him into the limelight and he was spotted by the Mumbai scouts who called him for trials.
"When Nehal came to me, he was a very small and chubby kid," says his childhood coach Charanjit Bhangu. "He was a very quick learner and used to apply whatever I used to say to his game. Whenever a player does that, he immediately draws attention. After finishing practice, he used to come to my room and ask me for inputs on how to improve his game. He used to carry his bat everywhere so that he could shadow practice."
Wadhera slowly moved up the ranks in Punjab age-group cricket. In 2018, he was selected in the India U-19 team and was also named captain of an India A U-19 side that played a Quadrangular series in 2019 which had India B, South Africa and Afghanistan taking part. He then found a place in the squad for the U-19 Asia Cup in September 2019 but was overlooked for the U-19 World Cup that took place in early 2020. That came as a blow to Wadhera.
"It was a very challenging time for Nehal, but he never doubted himself," Wadhera's father Kamal Wadhera says. "He is a very positive boy. Whenever there are any problems, he always tries to search for ways to get out of them and not overthink about it.
"To be honest, we are a middle-class family and we don't have any stories of struggles. Whatever he (Nehal) asked for, we provided him with that. But the good thing is that he never misused his time or money.
"During Covid-19, he worked on his fitness, both mental and physical. He started to read a lot as well. He now has even more self-belief than before."
Despite putting in consistent performances in age-group cricket, Wadhera had to bide his time before the senior call-up came, and he made sure to capitalise as soon as he got one. He scored a century on his first-class debut against Gujarat in January this year, and soon after compiled a match-winning 214 against defending Ranji Trophy champions Madhya Pradesh to further his credentials.
Wadhera is yet to play a T20 game outside of the IPL, but the way his 2023 is going, he could soon become an all-format middle-order asset for Punjab.