Nehal Wadhera: Complete 2025 Profile - From MI to PBKS

Introduction

The rise of Nehal Wadhera from Ludhiana's cricket grounds to the IPL spotlight has been remarkable. This left-handed batsman, often compared to Yuvraj Singh, made waves in IPL 2023 with Mumbai Indians before his high-profile move to Punjab Kings in 2025. Here's his complete journey with exclusive Instagram posts showing his evolution.

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Nehal Wadhera in Indian colors - his early days that hinted at greater things to come

Early Life & Background

• Full Name: Nehal Wadhera
• Born: September 4, 2000 (Age 24) in Ludhiana, Punjab
• Early Training: Began cricket at age 9 under coach Charanjit Bhangu
• Education: Graduated from Satish Chander Dhawan Government College
• Nickname: "New-Age Yuvraj Singh" for his batting resemblance to the legend

Domestic Career Breakdown

First-Class Career (2022-Present)

• Debut: January 2023 vs Gujarat (scored 123)
• Matches: 14 | Runs: 803 | Avg: 40.15 | HS: 214
• Key Achievement: Fastest to 500 runs in Punjab's Inter-District U-23 (578* in semi-final)

List A Career

• Debut: November 2023 vs Baroda (Vijay Hazare Trophy)
• Matches: 14 | Runs: 298 | Avg: 29.80 | HS: 57

T20 Career

• Matches: 37 | Runs: 674 | Avg: 24.96 | SR: 135+ | HS: 64

IPL Journey (2023-2025)

Mumbai Indians (2023-2024)

• Bought For: ₹20 lakh (2023 auction)
• Debut: April 2, 2023 vs RCB (21 off 13 balls)
• 2023 Season: 241 runs @ avg 26.77 | SR 145+ | 2 fifties
• Best Performance: 64 vs CSK (maiden IPL fifty)

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Nehal in Mumbai Indians colors during his breakthrough 2023 season

Punjab Kings (2025 Mega Auction)

• Acquired For: INR 4.2 crore (14x his base price of ₹30 lakh)
• Bidding War: Fierce competition between CSK, LSG, PBKS, and DC
• MI Decision: Opted not to use Right to Match card
• 2025 Role: Middle-order finisher and powerplay accumulator