Nehal Wadhera Eyes Wankhede Return to Spark PBKS Form Against MI

Punjab Kings' middle-order batter Nehal Wadhera is hoping that his return to the Wankhede Stadium for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 clash with the Mumbai Indians on Thursday will help him regain form and produce a big knock.

Wadhera, who has scored 3, 10, and 14 runs in the three matches in which PBKS have batted this season, has played two seasons for the Mumbai Indians from 2023-24 and is quite familiar with the Wankhede Stadium and the current MI squad, barring a few players.

The 25-year-old batting all-rounder from Ludhiana in Punjab is brimming with confidence on his return to Wankhede.

"I have played here for two years, so I know the conditions well. I have played with everyone here. I have played a lot of these bowlers in the nets too. I know I am short of runs, but I am hoping that the time will come when I am also scoring well. I am in good touch, though. I think it is a matter of one innings, and then it will start from there," said Wadhera in the pre-match press conference at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Wadhera said the team will take confidence from their good record against the Mumbai Indians over the year -- among the eight IPL-founding teams, PBKS are the only one with an equal head-to-head record with MI, with both teams having won 17 matches in the 34 they have played so far.

"Just like a bowler who is doing well has lots of confidence in bowling or a batter who is doing well has confidence in his batting, similarly, a team. If a team has a good winning record against another team, that also carries forward the momentum.

"So we are in a very positive frame of mind. It is not only that, but last year we won against them in the semifinals, and this time too they same set of bowlers, the same team.

"So, we also have an idea of what plan they will come up with, which plan of action they will come up with, and we already have an idea. It is an added advantage that last year, if we did well against their plans, then this year also we will do well," said Wadhera.

The middle-order batter who bowls leg-break when required agreed that Punjab Kings have started from where they left off last year, though they were disappointed at losing the final to Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

"We are exactly where we left, we are carrying up the same momentum. Though we lost the final last year, we are still dominating every team like we did last year. We are following the same routine, there is the same atmosphere basically, which we had last year," he said.

Wadhera praised head coach Ricky Ponting and skipper Shreyas Iyer for instilling a positive outlook among the players and giving them confidence to play freely. He said Ponting always tells the players to follow their natural game without bothering about failure.

Wadhera said interacting with a legend like Ponting is a big gain for players like him who have not played for India. "He is a great batsman and has captained Australia to multiple World Cup titles, so he brings a lot to the conversation. He always asked the players to be positive in their outlook and that results will come," said Wadhera.

The 25-year-old batter from Punjab said skipper Shreyas Iyer's one-on-one interactions with the players also have a good impact on the players. "Just the other day, I was having a conversation with him, and he told me to play my natural game without bothering about pressure. 'You play your natural game, I am there to take up the pressure, he told me," said Wadhera.

- IANS