The young all-rounder has enjoyed a great start to his IPL career with DC
There are debuts that hardly get better than Vipraj Nigam’s in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Delhi Capitals.
Initially believed to be just a good leggie among a line-up stacked with proven performers of the craft, the 20-year-old from Lucknow managed to pick up the wicket of Aiden Markram against Lucknow Super Giants. But he also took a beating by conceding four sixes, two boundaries and bowling just three dot balls from his two overs.
However, when he came out to bat, Nigam not only made up for his bowling numbers but also for the frontline batters who walked back to the dug-out in a jiffy. The youngster forged a 55-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Ashutosh Sharma in just 22 balls as the duo took their team from the jaws of victory to the edge of victory.
Nigam slammed two sixes and five boundaries in his 15-ball 39 as Delhi clinched a memorable one-wicket victory to begin the season.
The Uttar Pradesh youngster’s striking ability was there for everyone to see, but his childhood coach Sarwar Nawab identified it first having seen him perform well against bowlers in a higher age group.
In a recent interview with Cricbuzz, Nigam revealed that leg-spin came later in his career following the advice from National Cricket Academy (NCA) coaches who told him to practice leg-spin as it is rare to find a leg-spinning all-rounder in India.
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He found inspiration by watching Pakistani leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s bowling against the West Indies.
“There was a Test match, West Indies vs Pakistan. I watched the highlights. He had taken 10-11 wickets in that game. The way he used to bowl, I started to bowl leg spin that way. From the start, he was one of the leg spinners who I watched and felt I could bowl like and I felt there were things I could learn from him,” Nigam said.
He also revealed valuable advice he received from DC captain Axar Patel during the LSG game when he whacked for three sixes by Nicholas Pooran.
“If you don’t stay positive on the field, there are chances that you’ll misfield and you’ll lose focus while batting too. So that was the best part that Axar kept me positive after that over. The result of that was that I was positive with the bat and I fielded well too,” Nigam said.
The all-rounder didn’t get to bat in the win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second match. He bowled two overs again and gave away 21 runs without a wicket.
DC will next face Chennai Super Kings on Saturday at the Chepauk in Chennai.
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