Megh Raj Wadhera has never skipped a match his grandson Nehal played. With the senior Wadhera carried a notepad and a pen to write ‘ball-by-ball commentary’ of every ball Nehal has played. He has been doing this for the past fifteen years.
“It has become a routine for my father. He is his biggest cheerleader. He will note down every minute detail. His body language, his shots, his running between the wickets, how he gets out. He is not an expert but just a fan of his grandson, and in the evening, the duo will sit down and they will talk about the game. Both my father and my son are obsessive about cricket,” Kamal Wadhera, Nehal’s father, told the Indian Express from Ludhiana.
Apart from Cricket, the 83-year-old Megh Raj also scolds his grandson if he uses a cuss word on the field. Megh Raj is an old-timer who believes that Cricket is still a “gentleman’s game.”
“He hates when someone abuses someone on the cricket field. He has lambasted Nehal a couple of times. For him cricket is all about skill, not verbal diarrhoea. He loves the game and gets really annoyed when someone uses the cuss words. He has been very strict with Nehal on that note and has set a rule for him ‘Never abuse anyone, this is not your upbringing,'” said Kamal.
In a video posted by Mumbai Indians after their match against CSK, Nehal dedicated his debut fifty to his grandfather, who returned home from the hospital a day before the match.
Nehal has been a consistent performer in the age-group Cricket. He has played at both U-16 and U-19 level for Punjab. In the Cooch Behar Trophy in the 2017-18 season, he made 540 runs and scored as many as six half-centuries, probably the prime reason why he was among the probables for the U-19 World Cup, which India won under Prithvi Shaw’s captaincy.
Nehal with grandfather and grandmother. (Express photo)
He missed the bus. Rejection hit him hard and he told his father, “This is not enough. I will have to do better.”
Later that year, he was picked for India U-19. During the tour to Sri Lanka in July 2018, he struck two half-centuries, including a fine 82 on his debut against the Lankans in the youth Test, which India won by an innings and 21 runs.
Despite his consistent run in the U-19 and U-23 for Punjab, he had to wait as Punjab’s top order had one too many openers. So he moved down the order and finally got his chance and he made sure that he made it count.
A season to remember
Away from the IPL, Nehal’s emergence in this domestic season has been exceptional. After spending a couple of seasons carrying the drinks, the southpaw finally got the chance, but not as an opener, his favourite position. He batted in the middle and on his debut Ranji Trophy game against Gujarat at Valsad, made a patient 123 off 255 balls as Punjab toppled Gujarat on a green top.
His best knock was against the defending champions Madhya Pradesh, where Punjab was reeling at 47 for 4 and batting at six, he scored a double century (214) and put on a match-winning 269 runs for the fifth wicket with Anmoplreet Singh (124).
IPL performance
He showed a glimpse of his talent in his IPL debut, scoring a brisk 13-ball 21 against RCB. After being in and out from the side, he has finally cemented his place with back-to-back fifties. One was on a tricky Chepauk pitch against CSK, where MI was 14 for 3 in three overs. Nehal promoted at 4, scored his maiden IPL fifty. On Tuesday at Wankhede, along with the seasoned Suryakumar Yadav made a mockery of the RCB attack and scored his second fifty with a winning six.
Mumbai Indians’ Nehal Wadhera bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
Charanjit Bhangu, under whose guidance Nehal started playing the game for the past twelve years, rates the CSK knock better given the conditions.
“Everyone likes a winnings shot. He was very satisfied with his knock as he hit a six to win the match. But for the sheer cricketing reason, I will rate his knock against CSK highly. It was a tricky pitch and the team was in trouble. And after the match, he got a pat on his back from none other than MS Dhoni, who told him ‘acha khele,'” Bhangu said.
Nehal had an interesting chat with his coach after he decided to bat in the middle order. He told Bhangu, “If I want to play for India, I have to be ready for any challenges. I can’t say this is my favourite position and I can’t bat at No 6 or 7. I want to bat in the middle order now.”
Bhangu said he didn’t tweak his game much. “He has always been good against pace and spin. He adapted quickly.”
Nehal, who was born a month before Yuvraj Singh made his international debut in Nairobi in the year 2000 and spent a lot of time watching the stylish Southpaw fashion wins for India. Like many Indians, Nehal has Yuvraj’s exploits in the 2011 World Cup etched in his memory.
“Mujhe Ludhiana ka Yuvraj kehta hai (Poeple call me the Yuvraj of Ludhiana),” Nehal had said.
Nehal has also modelled his game on his idol Yuvraj; the upright stance, the flowing cover drive, the punchy back foot shots, his hand-eye-co-ordination or the flamboyance in general — one can see the striking similarity between him and Yuvraj.
“He got his nickname because of his destructive batting in the junior Cricket. He loves to take the opposition attack to the cleaners. That is his game,” he said.
Last year, Nehal came to the limelight when the Ludhiana lad smashed 578 against Bathinda U-23 in the semifinals of the Punjab State Inter-district tournament at the GRD Cricket Ground in Ludhiana. Nehal smashed 42 fours and 37 sixes during his stay at the crease.
This knock came again after he was not picked by the Rajasthan Royals after he was called for the trial. But the left-hander had said his stint with the Royals in Nagpur and the time he spent with coach Kumar Sangakkara has helped improve his Cricket.
“At the Rajasthan Royals camp, Sangakkara sir encouraged me a lot. He motivated me and told me that my game is good. He spent quality time with me,” Wadhera had said.
Nehal comes from Ludhiana and is the third cricketer from the city to have played for India at any level. Before him, the late Yashpal Sharma, who was a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, and Gagandeep Singh played for the senior Indian team.
Coach Bhangu hopes he will be the third from the manufacturing hub of Punjab to represent India.
Mumbai Indians batter Nehal Wadhera in action during the IPL 2023 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (PTI). 
Nehal with grandfather and grandmother. (Express photo)
Mumbai Indians’ Nehal Wadhera bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers 
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