Thiruvananthapuram: Many in Kerala were left scratching their heads wondering who Vignesh Puthur was – the 24-year-old ‘impact substitute’ who created a major impact in the Mumbai Indians’ match against Chennai Super Kings claiming 3 for 32 in just 4 overs at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, making him the second best bowler to take the highest number of wickets on IPL debut.
Vignesh hails from Perinthalmanna in north Kerala where football is almost a religion. The son of an autorickshaw driver, the young chinaman began his journey at the age of 11. He was initially kept as a substitute in the match against CSK and was called in to replace Rohit Sharma. Within minutes captain Surya Kumar Yadav tossed the ball to him as he went on to become the darling of social media; but Kerala was still clueless who this lad was.
Vignesh, the left-arm wrist spinner, who is yet to make his First-Class or List A debut for Kerala, not only turned the ball effectively, but also turned heads by claiming a wicket each in his first three overs in his maiden IPL stint. Even veteran M S Dhoni walked up to him to acknowledge his efforts with a pat on his shoulder at the end of the game.
In Perinthalmanna, his father Sunil and mother Bindhu could not hold their tears back as the media swarmed them. “It felt like a dream. He called me shortly after midnight and again at 2 in the morning. We could hardly speak; we were overcome with emotion,” Sunil told the media.
“When he started playing, everything seemed expensive — the cricket kit, the ball. I could only offer minimal support, but so many people helped us. His first coach, Vijayakumar Sir, the Jolly Rovers Cricket Club — they all provided him with whatever he needed, and we are indebted to them for our Kannan’s (affectionate name of Vignesh) success,” he said.
It was Sunil’s neighbour Mohammed Sherif who recognised Vignesh’ s talent early on and took him to the Perinthalmanna Cricket Academy when he was just 11. “He was not very tall, very slim and quite introverted. At first, he tried everything — left-arm fast, left-arm orthodox spin and wrist spin. But I noticed he had a lot of energy when bowling left-arm wrist spin, so we decided that was best suited for him. That’s how his journey as a chinaman bowler began,” coach Vijayakumar was quoted in the media.
Vignesh played in the inaugural edition of the Kerala Cricket League last year, where he represented Alleppey Ripples and took just three wickets in two games. But MI’s talent scouts could gauge his potential and bought him at the IPL auctions for his base price of Rs 30 lakh. He was then flown to South Africa, where he bowled in the nets for MI Cape Town, MI’s South African franchise, captained by Rashid Khan and coached by Lasith Malinga.
Credit should also go to Suryakumar Yadav who gambled and took the right decision in calling in an inexperienced lad. Shows that he is a captain material. Today, far from the din of IPL, Sunil’s autorickshaw, also named Kannan, is in great demand in the small town of Perinthalmana.
