Who is Nehal Wadhera? - All you need to know about MI's young sensation

The Indian Premier League has served as a platform for youngsters to make a name for themselves by performing against some of the biggest stars of international cricket. Every year, several unheard names take the tournament by storm with their sensational performances on the field. It has been just a few days since the start of IPL 2023 and several youngsters have grabbed the attention of fans with their sheer talent.

One such player is Nehal Wadhera who’s playing for Mumbai Indians this season. The 22-year-old made his IPL debut in match 5 between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 2, 2023. 

The left-handed batter started his IPL career in style as he smartly placed a delivery by Michael Bracewell towards third and got a boundary. Later in his innings, he took on Karn Sharma and smacked him for back-to-back sixes. One of which went over the roof at long-on and travelled a massive 101 metres. 

The Punjab-born batter was finally dismissed for 21 off 13 balls but not before he clobbered one four and two sixes in his innings. The youngster hailing from Ludhiana, Punjab idolises former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh and his batting style also resembles Yuvraj.

Nehal Wadhera's incredible Ranji Trophy debut

Wadhera was bought at the base price of INR 20 lakh by Mumbai Indians at the mini-auction held in December 2022. He scored a magnificent hundred (123) on his Ranji Trophy debut against Gujarat in January and followed it up with a scintillating 214 against defending champions Madhya Pradesh.

He amassed 376 runs in his debut Ranji Season in seven innings at an average of 53.71 with two hundreds to his name. The southpaw was a run machine for the Punjab U-19 team as he scored six fifties in the 2018 Cooch Behar U-19 Trophy and managed to grab the attention of the national selectors.

He further stamped his authority in his U-19 debut for India as he played a lovely innings of 81 against Sri Lanka. Having left his mark on his IPL debut, Wadhera will look to make the most of the opportunities he gets, going ahead in the tournament.