IPL 2025: Can Kerala boy Vignesh Puthur be Mumbai Indians’ X-factor ?

 The first leg of El Clasico of IPL between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians got over last night – and it’s a member of the losing side who is creating more ripples. Meet  Vignesh Puthur, the 23-year-old left arm left arm wrist spinner from Kerala, who claimed three prized wickets on debut to give the yellow shirts a scare during their successful chase.

Noor Ahmed, the Afghan wrist spinner for CSK was Player of the Match for his four-wicket haul on a typical Chepauk track, but he had been showing his mettle for a number of seasons now. Vignesh, who was signed by the MI management for Rs 30 lakhs on the basis of his performance in the trials, was on the other hand a completely unknown quantity.

The town of Perinthalmanna in North Kerala is not quite the likely place from where the next IPL sensation may hail from, but then this has been the beauty of this cash-rich league. . A student of MA in literature at PTM Government College in Perinthalmanna, Vignesh comes from a humble background as his father Sunil Kumar drives an autorickshaw and mother KP Bindu is a homemaker.

Once you hear this, shades of the Mohammed Siraj journey will come back – but then it’s only the beginning for Vignesh who did not play a single T20 game at the senior level for his state before. There were, however, no signs of any nerves as he claimed the wickets of a rampaging Rituraj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda to end with 3-32 and draw lavish praise from their bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.

‘’I think the idea at MI is always seeing the potential more than anything else,’’ said Mhambrey – a claim which doesn’t sound an empty boast when one reflects on the quality which their spotters have unearthed over the years: be it Jasprit Bumrah or the Pandya brothers. ‘’When we saw him for one of our trials, we saw the potential in him rather than looking into how much cricket he has played in the past,’’ the former Indian bowling coach said before breaking it down: ‘’He spins the ball pretty consistently. Lands the ball on pretty much what [where] we wanted and is pretty accurate with it. I think those are the tick marks that we look into but not only that but it’s just the fact that he is different.’’

Barely six months back, Vignesh was just another aspiring cricketer from Kerala – a state whose cricketing ecosystem received a major tumbs up when they finished runners-up to Vidarbha in the recent Ranji Trophy final. After a stint with his state’s Under-20 team, he appeared for Alleppey Ripples in the Kerala Premier League (KPL) before he turned up at the MI trials in November.

After the auction, Vignesh was flown to South Africa where he worked more as a net bowler for MI Cape Town and it helped fast-track his development. It was an experience which helped him grow and Mhambrey was impressed at the way he handled pressure:  ‘’It never looked like he was under pressure from the very first ball. And that was good to see, I think. It’s just the way he handled pressure.’’

The conditions in Chennai must have prompted MI to unleash the youngster as an impact player, but Vignesh may not be as lucky in the next game. This is where patience and his willingness to learn will come into play!