Meet Naman Dhir, the Rookie Punjab Cricketer Who Made his IPL Debut Batting at No. 3 for Mumbai Indians

When Ishan Kishan was caught behind for a four-ball duck in Mumbai Indians’ opening match of the IPL 2024 against Gujarat Titans on Sunday, the five-time champions sent rookie Naman Dhir at the all-important no.3 spot.

Dhir, a 24-year-old Punjab allrounder, had played just five T20 matches in his career – all during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy last year.

Sending a greenhorn batter against a team like GT and at a venue like Narendra Modi Stadium seemed like a punt. MI were fortunate that it worked with the youngster belting three fours and a six before being dismissed in the same over of Afghanistan allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai who had dislodged Ishan earlier.

He made 20 off 10.

So who is Dhir and why MI sent him ahead much accomplished batters?

Dhir represents Punjab in domestic cricket and was bought by MI at his base price of Rs 20 lakh at the IPL players’ auction last December.

Known for clearing the boundary with ease, the right-handed batter made his T20 debut last year in September but only managed 39 runs from five matches as Punjab became the champions.

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So why MI bid for him at the auction?

Well, during a tournament organised by the Punjab Cricket Association called Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup in August last year, Dhir made a name for himself by smashing 30 sixes in 12 innings. He finished the tournament with 466 runs at a strike-rate of 192.56 that included two centuries.

“I’m going to give kudos to the scouts and all the guys who work behind the scenes to continue to unearth these sort of talents within India,” MI batting coach Kieron Pollard said praising Dhir.

“He was one that was on the radar for us, has been within the Mumbai setup the last couple months as well – going to England on our developmental tour. So it’s something that we’d have seen in that guy. And he came out and was very expressive,” he added.

Pollard was impressed with Dhir’s calmness despite walking in to bat in the very first over of MI’s innings. “His calmness, you know, even when we lost that first wicket, you know, to continue with that intent, I think is a good start for him. But, again, this is only the start of something. At the end of it, he scored 20-odd. So let’s give him that space. Let him enjoy the moment. It’s a big occasion for all these guys. But, you know, as a franchise, I said we continue to unearth the new talent. So hopefully in the future, we could continue to do that,” Pollard said.