Ludhiana3 minutes agoAuthor: Rajkishore
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24 year old Nehal Wadhera from Ludhiana will be seen playing for Punjab Kings in IPL-2025. Punjab bought him for Rs 4.20 crore in the recently concluded mega auction. They were sold at 14 times more than their base price. His base price was Rs 30 lakh.
He was a part of Mumbai Indians for the last two seasons. Nehal came into limelight in his debut season 2023 by playing an inning of 64 runs in 51 balls against Chennai Super Kings.
After the mega auction, Nehal’s father Kamal Wadhera spoke to Bhaskar. He said- ‘Nehal was mischievous since childhood. To save him from his mischief, his mother sent him to a cricket academy. Nehal wanted to learn batting, so Kamal got an indoor practice pitch made at home. Not only this, they also brought a bowling machine for them. Read Nehal’s success story…
Kamal has Nehal Said on the quote-
We expected that 2-3 teams would try to buy Nehal. It was good to see that four-five teams were competing to get the son. Ultimately Punjab Kings managed to get the son.
Used to have fun at home, so mother put me in cricket academy Nehal’s father Kamal Wadhera has a company in Ludhiana. His mother is the vice president in the company. Nehal was physically active since childhood. Summer holidays were going on, his mother felt that if he stayed at home, he would create a ruckus. In such a situation, they should be sent to some place where their energy can be properly utilized.
From an acquaintance I came to know that a summer camp for cricket is going on in UCC Club. In that camp he got the award of best cricketer out of 200 children. On the advice of the coach there, we got Nehal admitted in the cricket academy of Ludhiana District Cricket Association.
He got angry when the cricket kit was kept outside. Nehal’s father says that he has passion for cricket, so I never stopped him. When a child makes his hobby his profession, then I don’t think we should stop him.
Recalling an incident, he says – ‘Nehal must have been 9-10 years old, after coming back 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 trunk of the car, you have to go for training tomorrow. He got angry on this. Nehal said to his father-
When you people come from office, you bring your stuff inside the house and keep it, then why would my cricket kit remain outside.
Did not leave practice even in Corona, used to go to Lohara, 15 km away Nehal’s father says- ‘We got the opportunity to know Nehal’s passion for cricket during the Corona period. He used to practice in Lohara, 15 km away, when everything was closed during the lockdown. Not only this, he always worked on fitness at home.
Used to hit big shorts; Colleagues named him Yuvi Nehal is a left handed batsman, he also bowls spin. He has bowled for the state in Under-19, although he has not got a chance to bowl in IPL yet.
Father Kamal told that after seeing his game everyone used to call 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. That’s why he came to be known as Yuvi in Punjab. Sachin and Virat are Nehal’s favorite players.
Father said- mother’s contribution is the most Kamal says that if anyone has contributed in this journey of Nehal, it is his grandfather and mother. My father used to take him for practice. Nehal’s mother, along with managing the office work, used to take him to matches. She was responsible for taking care of his diet.
He even stopped going to parties for Nehal. Visits among relatives also reduced. Had to listen to the taunts of many relatives and friends. She did not care about it and kept sacrificing for her son.
Nehal’s father said, if anyone has contributed in this journey of Nehal, it is his grandfather and mother.
Coach said- learns very quickly His childhood coach Charanjit Bhangu says that he was a very quick learner and whatever I told him, he implemented it in his game. Whenever a player did this, he immediately attracted attention. After finishing practice, he would come to my room and ask me for suggestions to improve his game. He used to carry his bat everywhere, so that he could practice.
The coach told that once I was the assistant coach of the Punjab cricket team in the Under-19 National Championship. Nehal was also in the team. He had some problem in batting. Someone knocked at my door at 12 o’clock in the night. 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 am not able to understand, there is a match tomorrow, so I came to you.
Nehal’s childhood coach Charanjit Bhangu says that he was a very quick learner.