A few years ago, Nehal Wadhera played an innings that caught the attention of certain IPL scouts: 578 off only 414 deliveries in the Punjab State Inter-District U-23 Tournament. The innings included 42 boundaries and 37 sixes. By then, Wadhera had participated at Rajasthan Royals’ trials. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the cut. However, Mumbai Indians’ scouts had seen enough of his traits and he was soon picked by the franchise for the 2023 IPL.
Returning to present times, Wadhera is playing a key role for Punjab Kings. The southpaw was picked up by his home state’s franchise at the mega auction for INR 4.2 crore after MI had opted to not retain his services. In the six games he has played for PBKS, Wadhera has already made an impression, compiling 184 runs at an average of 46 and strike rate of 149.59. It includes a gritty 62 in a losing cause against Rajasthan Royals and an unbeaten 33 versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which confined RCB to their third straight loss at home.
More than the 33 runs he scored, it was Wadhera’s traits to soak up in the pressure that stood out. Wadhera walked out to bat with the score reading 52 for 3. Soon it became 53 for 4. At that juncture, Wadhera played out four dots and the equation came down to 43 off 33 deliveries. For a second or two it seemed as if Wadhera would attempt a wild slog and lose his wicket. The expectant RCB fans too believed that their beloved home team were all set to take one more wicket.
Wadhera, however, had other ideas as he cracked a four and a six to calm down the nerves in the PBKS camp and silence the crowd. More than anything else, it was the execution of his shots – reverse-hit and a loft over long-on – that caught the eye. Basically, he had found a way to forget the previous four deliveries and concentrate on the next ball. Wadhera cracked a couple more sixes, but those two strokes in the ninth over turned out to be the final game-changing moment of the match.
Wadhera has also shown the required mental aptitude to make a comeback after a rather indifferent IPL season last year, where he accrued just 109 runs at an average of 18.17. Even in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he could accumate a mere 97 runs at a strike rate of 104.3.
Opposition teams pore through a promising player’s videos and start to analyse every nut and bolt of his/her game. So, it shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise that a good season was followed by a poor one. But Wadhera seems to have taken all those failures in his stride and bounced back in style. As the old proverb goes, “failure teaches you more than success”.
Rain, drama and a crumbling RCB. Nehal Wadhera’s fiery cameo seals it for PBKS as Bengaluru’s home woes continue.
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— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) April 18, 2025
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