TimesofIndia.com in Chennai: Four players made their Indian Premier League debut in the Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians clash at Chepauk on Sunday but it was the little-known Vignesh Puthur who made a splash in front of a packed house. The 24-year-old chinaman bowler, son of an auto driver, from Malappuram in Kerala was the latest dispatch from MI’s scouting stable, and the youngster made instant impact with 3/32 against a star-studded CSK outfit.
Puthur’s journey to MI’s blue and gold is a fascinating one as he was picked up at the auction for Rs 30 lakh after an impressive show in the franchise’s trials. Amongst the many who had assembled, Puthur caught the attention with his accuracy, consistent turn and ability to keep a cool head under pressure. It was enough to raise the paddle and from there on, the management chalked out a plan to groom the inexperienced spinner who had very little exposure at the higher level.
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The MI Cape Town unit was set to assemble in South Africa for the SA20 in January and Puthur was summoned as a net bowler and spent a lot of time working on his skills with the likes of Rashid Khan. The invaluable experience of rubbing shoulders with the greats of the game did his confidence a world of good and he even played three games for the Reliance team in the DY Patil T20 tournament before the pre-season preparations got underway.
In the nets, during match simulations and practice fixtures, the management led by head coach Mahela Jayawardene were convinced to give the boy an early chance in the IPL and feedback from Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav also pushed his case.
“Rohit, Surya, Tillak, all these guys batted against him (in the nets)… it wasn’t easy that easy (to pick him). So one of the reasons we felt that we have the confidence of pushing him in this game. And it turned out to be excellent. It was a good decision,” said MI bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
He lavished praise on the scouting team, who unearthed Puthur from the Kerala Cricket League, for unearthing a talent like him and further explained what they look for when picking these youngsters.
“We have good guys who can spot talent. I think the idea with MI is seeing the potential more than anything else. And when we saw him for one of our trials, we saw the potential in him. Rather than looking into how much cricket he’s played in the past. But it’s purely thought that he has the potential. And you saw that today,” added Mhambrey.
Amidst deafening whistles and chants, Puthur returned with the wickets of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda but what impressed the MI dugout the most was his ability to hold nerves and handle the pressure. It was something they had worked on behind the scenes and the regular conversations with coaches Mahela, Kieron Pollard and senior players like Rohit helped Puthur understand his role, expectations of the team and the culture of the MI dressing room.
“Yes, he hasn’t played much cricket. But we got an opportunity where he worked a little bit. Got an opportunity to work with him after we had a couple of trials. Not purely on the skill work so much really. I think that he is pretty much sorted out there I feel. But more about the conversations that he had an opportunity with MJ. Or Pollard. Or the batters, especially Surya and Rohit. I think that really helped with him in understanding the requirements. And understanding his role in the team. And what we expect out of him,” explained Mhambrey.
Sharing the dressing room with India and overseas stars, having a post-match chat with MS Dhoni is the stuff dreams are made of, and Puthur lived that on Sunday night. The social media traction sky-rocketed in lightning quick time but the bowling coach asserts he is a “sweet kid” just soaking it all in “like a sponge”.
“He’s a lovely kid to have in the team. He’s more like a sponge right now, just absorbing everything, looking around, you know, having conversations. I thought not everyone gets an opportunity in a dressing room to get an opportunity to chat with MJ, someone who has so much experience. Surya, Tilak, Rohit, you know, all these guys. He’s just listening.
“You have heroes, you see them playing on the TV, and all of a sudden you’re sharing that dressing room with them, sitting next to someone like Rohit. It’s a dream come true for a lot of these guys, right? But purely the way he responded… never looked like he was under pressure from the very first ball. And that was good to see,” says Mhambrey.
The first impression has been a good one and now everyone in the MI dugout would hope it turns out to be a long and successful innings like their previous boy wonders – Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Tilak Varma – who went on to become household names.
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