Wadhera moves from Punjab to Himachal ahead of 2026-27 domestic season
Prashant Chopra, who was with Uttarakhand last season, is also back at Himachal
Punjab batter Nehal Wadhera will play for Himachal Pradesh in the 2026-27 domestic season. Prashant Chopra, who was with Uttarakhand last season, has also returned to his home state, Himachal.
Wadhera was far from a regular for Punjab last season, playing just three first-class games, two 50-over matches, and four T20s. At Himachal, he will become the third guest player from Punjab, with Pukhraj Mann and Aryaman Singh already playing for them.
Wadhera made his first-class debut for Punjab in 2022-23 and scored a century in his very first outing, against Gujarat in Valsad. He was also part of the side that lifted the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2023-24. In all, he has played 17 first-class games, 16 List A matches, and 69 T20s, of which 44 have come for Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings in the IPL.
Chopra, meanwhile, did not have a great time with Uttarakhand. In seven first-class games, he scored 262 runs at an average of 23.81, with a best of 82. He didn't play the 50-over tournament and featured only in three T20s, scoring 85 runs at a strike rate of 108.97. It is understood that while he is available for selection, he has not been picked in Himachal's pre-season camp from which the Ranji Trophy squad will be picked.
Himachal have also made changes to their coaching staff, with Vineet Saxena replacing VRV Singh as head coach and Gagandeep Singh coming in as bowling coach.
Himachal would hope to put behind them a forgettable 2025-26 season, during which they failed to make the knockouts in all three formats. Their Ranji Trophy performance, in particular, was concerning. Of their seven matches, they lost two and drew five to finish at the bottom of the points table in their group. In T20s, too, they won just one of their seven games and finished second from bottom.