Nehal Wadhera, 24, from Ludhiana will be seen playing for Punjab Kings in IPL-2025. Punjab bought it for Rs 4.20 crore in the recently concluded mega auction. They were sold for 14 times more than their base price. Its base price was Rs 30 lakh.
He was part of the Mumbai Indians for the last two seasons. Nehal shot to fame in his debut 2023 season when he played an innings of 64 runs in 51 balls against Chennai Super Kings.
After the mega auction, Nehal’s father Kamal Wadhera spoke to Indianewsget. He said, “Nehal was mischievous since his childhood. To save him from his misdeeds, his mother sent him to a cricket academy. Nehal wanted to learn batting, so Kamal had an indoor practice pitch made at home. Not only that, they also brought them a bowling machine. Nehal’s success story…
Kamal said on Nehal’s quote-
We expected 2 or 3 teams to try to buy Nehal. It was good to see that four or five teams were competing to get the son. Finally, Punjab Kings managed to get the son.
They were having fun at home, so their mother put them in a cricket academy. Nehal’s father Kamal Wadhera has a business in Ludhiana. His mother is vice president of the company. Nehal was physically active since childhood. Summer vacation was approaching, his mother felt that if he stayed at home he would cause trouble. In such a situation, they should be sent to a place where their energy can be properly utilized.
Through an acquaintance, I learned that a summer cricket camp was being held at the UCC Club. In this camp, he received the award for the best cricketer out of 200 children. On the advice of the coach there, we got Nehal admitted to the Ludhiana District Cricket Association cricket academy.
When the cricket kit was kept outside, he got angry. Nehal’s father said he had a passion for cricket, so I never stopped him. When a child turns his hobby into a career, I don’t think we should stop him from doing so.
Recalling an incident, he says, “Nehal must have been 9-10 years old, after returning from training, his cricket kit was left in the car. After freshening up he asked me where the cricket kit was, I said it was in the car boot, you have to go and practice tomorrow. He got angry about it. Nehal said to his father:
When you come back from office you bring your stuff inside the house and keep it, so why should my cricket kit stay outside.
I didn’t stop training even in Corona, I went to Lohara, 15 km away. Nehal’s father says, “We were fortunate to know Nehal’s passion for cricket during the Corona period. He worked in Lohara, 15 km away, when everything was closed during confinement. Moreover, he has always worked on fitness at home.
Used to hit big shots; His colleagues named him Yuvi. Nehal is a left-handed batsman, he also bowls. He played for the state in the under-19 level, although he is yet to get a chance to play in the IPL.
Father Kamal told that after seeing his acting, everyone called him Yuvi. Coach Charanjit Bhangu also says that Nehal hits long sixes and is left-handed like Yuvraj and bats in the middle order like him. This is why he became known as Yuvi in Punjab. Sachin and Virat are Nehal’s favorite players.
The father said: “Mother’s contribution is the greatest. Kamal says if anyone contributed to Nehal’s journey, it was his grandfather and mother. My father took him to practice. Besides handling the office work, Nehal’s mother used to take him to matches. She was responsible for taking care of her diet.
He even stopped going to parties for Nehal. Visits between relatives have also decreased. I had to listen to the taunts of many relatives and friends. She didn’t care and continued to sacrifice herself for her son.
Nehal’s father said that if anyone contributed to Nehal’s journey, it was his grandfather and mother.
The coach said: “He learns very quickly. His childhood coach, Charanjit Bhangu, says that he learned very quickly and whatever I told him, he implemented it in his game. Whenever a player did that, he immediately attracted attention. After finishing practice, he would come to my room and ask for suggestions to improve his game. He used to carry his bat everywhere so he could practice.
The coach told that I was once an assistant coach of the Punjab cricket team during the under-19 national championship. Nehal was also part of the team. He had a problem with his batting. Someone knocked on my door at noon. I saw that Nehal was outside and had a bat in his hand. I asked what happened. He said, “Sir, there is a problem with the bat and I can’t figure it out, there is a match tomorrow, so I came to you.
Nehal’s childhood coach Charanjit Bhangu says he was a fast learner.
Nehal’s IPL career…
——————————————–
Lalit Modi Allegation – Umpire-fixing used to happen in IPL
IPL founder Lalit Modi said in a podcast that umpire fixing used to happen in the tournament. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) owner N Srinivasan used to appoint umpires from Chennai in CSK matches. He even organized an auction to buy the Englishman Andrew Flintoff.