Nehal Wadhera is an Indian cricketer, who is a left-handed batsman and an occasional legbreak bowler. He plays for Punjab cricket team in domestic cricket, having previously represented the India under-19 cricket team.

Biography

Wadhera was born at Ludhiana, a city in the Indian state of Punjab. He first started playing cricket at the age of nine. Initially, he used to play as a specialist batsman and put in long hours to work on his fitness. He is often referred to by his nickname "new-age Yuvraj Singh" for his middle-order performances and similarity in batting style with Yuvraj Singh. He started playing cricket under the guidance of his childhood coach Charanjit Bhangu. He was coached by Harjinder Singh in age level cricket, who saw "glimpses of Yuvraj" on him. He received his coaching at the Ludhiana District Cricket Association, and was graduated from Satish Chander Dhawan Government College.

Early career

He played for Punjab under-16 and under-19 cricket teams in Vijay Merchant Trophy and Cooch Behar Trophy from 2015 to 2018, with 529 runs in the 2017–18 season. He was then selected to play for different tiers of India under-19 cricket team. He made his under-19 debut for India on 17 July 2018, against Sri Lanka in a four-day match and scored 82 runs. He also became the third cricketer from Ludhiana to play for India at any level. In August 2018, he was named in India's squad for the 2016 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup.

In April 2022, during the semi-final of Inter-District U-23 Cricket Championship, he smashed 578 runs in an innings, surpassing Brian Lara's record of highest score in an innings in a four-day match. He also became the fastest player to reach 200, 300, 400 and 500 runs in any level of recognized cricket, and was honoured by Junior Chamber International for his record.

Domestic career

In December 2020, Wadhera was named in Punjab's squad for the 2020–21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In December 2022, he was bought by the Mumbai Indians at a price of ₹20 lakh, to play for them in the Indian Premier League. He became the third player from Ludhiana district to get IPL call-up.

In January 2023, he was selected to play for Punjab in the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy. He made his first-class debut for Punjab on 3 January 2023, against Gujarat. He made a match-winning century in his debut match, scoring 123 runs guiding Punjab to a 380-run victory. He struck his maiden double hundred in his just third first-class game, scoring 214 runs against Madhya Pradesh on 18 January 2023. He won the player of the match award, and finished his maiden first-class season with 376 runs from seven innings.

He made his Twenty20 debut for Mumbai Indians on 2 April 2023, against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2023 Indian Premier League. He impressed in his debut match, scoring a quick fire 21 runs off 13 balls including two sixes.