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Kerala's Vignesh Puthur impressed in his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians against CSK, taking 3 wickets.
Kerala cricketer Vignesh Puthur grabbed the attention of cricket fans and experts alike with his brilliant IPL debut for Mumbai Indians in their opening match of the IPL 2025 against Chennai Super Kings at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, March 23.
Vignesh came in as an impact substitute, replacing veteran Mumbai Indians batter Rohit Sharma in the second innings of the IPL 2025 clash against Chennai Super Kings. However, the 21-year-old made an instant impact with his brilliant bowling performance, prompting the commentators and fans to take note of a little-known talented Kerala player who did not show any sign of pressure or nervousness in his debut IPL match of his career.
Vignesh Puthur bamboozled the CSK batters with his different variations. He picked his maiden IPL wicket by dismissing CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad before removing Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda to register his figures of 3/32 at an economy rate of 8 in four overs. Though Vignesh's bowling efforts went in vain as Mumbai Indians lost to Chennai Super Kings by 4 wickets in the opening match of their campaign, his performance demonstrated immense potential. It emphasized Mumbai Indians’ knack for nurturing and grooming young talent.
Before making his IPL debut, Vignesh Puthur did not have any prior experience of playing any competitive or domestic cricket. Mallapuram-born cricketer participated in Kerala Cricket League, representing Alleppey Ripples and picked only two wickets in three matches. However, Mumbai Indians’ scouting team took note of his talent and invited Vignesh to attend the trials in Mumbai, where he performed under the watchful eyes of head coach Mahela Jayawardene, batting coach Kieronn Pollard, and skipper Hardik Pandya.
When Hardik Pandya told Vignesh Puthur ‘well done’ after the trails, he knew something special was about to happen. And it did. Vignesh Puthur’s name was included in the IPL Auction list and Mumbai Indians showed his interest in him by buying the Kerala spinner for INR 30 Lakh, which was his base price. It was a dream come true for a player, whose father is an auto rickshaw driver. After being picked by the MI franchise, Puthur was closer to realize his dream of playing in the richest cricket league in the world.
Local Kerala talent ➡️ MI debut in a big game ➡️ Wins the Dressing Room Best Bowler 🏅
Ladies & gents, Vignesh Puthur! ✨ pic.twitter.com/UsgyL2awwr
Vignesh Pathur is one of the players who came through Mumbai Indians scouting system, whose once spotted potential talented players like Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Nehal Wadhera, Ishan Kishan Tilak Varma and a few others, who went on to become one of the integral members and some of them event on to represent India at the highest level.
Since Vignesh Puthur was not part of the Kerala senior team in the recently concluded domestic season, Mumbai Indians decided to send him alongside MI Cape Town squad as a net bowler for SA20 this year. He was able to spend time with the likes of Rashid Khan, Trent Boult, Kagiso Rabada, Kieron Pollard, and a few others.
Training as a net bowler with some of the finest T20 bowlers in the world helped him a wealth of experience and develop a tactical understanding of the game. Seemingly, Mumbai Indians wanted to fast-track his development by exposing him to intense training sessions and world-class mentorship. Since Puthur is a wrist-spinner, training with Rashid Khan would have been a game-changer for him.
Reportedly, Vignesh Puthur was with MI Cape Town throughout the SA20 2025, where they won the maiden title of the tournament by defeating Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who were the defending champions, in the final.
Before making his IPL debut against Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk, Vignesh Puthur has already reposed his faith shown by Mumbai Indians franchise by troubling their batters in the nets. That’s when the MI coaching staff decided to hand over the MI cap in the match against CSK.
Speaking after the defeat against CSK, MI bowling coach Paras Mhambray revealed that Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma failed to pick up Vignesh Puthur failed to pick up his bowling in the nets and thus prompted the MI management to push him for the clash against CSK.
“Rohit, Surya, Tilak, all these guys batted against him (in the nets). It wasn’t easy to pick him. We felt that we had the confidence of pushing him in this game. And it turned out to be excellent. It was a good decision," Mhambray said as quoted by The Indian Express.
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