As a 20-year-old playing his debut Indian Premier League season, Vipraj Nigam has already shown glimpses of why Delhi Capitals entrusted faith in him. The leg-spinner returned figures of 2/18 in four overs against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday (April 10, 2025) to follow up his 2/27 against Chennai Super Kings and earn praise from skipper Axar Patel. (Highlights | Schedule | Teams)
"Talking about Vipraj (Nigam), in the first two games, he was under a bit of pressure. But after that the way he bowled in the last game and even tonight, when I asked him for the 18th over, he was confident and said he would bowl. He is improving day by day, and if someone gives you that confidence, nothing better than that for a captain," Axar said at the post-match presentation.
But the real claim to fame for Nigam was his dismissal of senior statesman Virat Kohli, who perished after smashing the tweaker for a six earlier in the seventh over. The leggie pulled back his length and fired it through quicker as Kohli's attempted inside-out shot ended up in the hands of Mitchell Starc at long-off. The wicket was crucial in the context of the game, which was won by DC eventually.
Purchased for INR 50 lakh at the mega auction, Nigam is the son of a school teacher from Barabanki, a small town near the capital city of Lucknow. He was the second-highest wicket-taker at the UP T20 League last year, scalping 20 wickets in 11 innings at an economy rate of 7.45.
The strong performance in the regional league earned Nigam a Uttar Pradesh debut in all formats. He has played three first-class, five List A and seven T20 games in the 2024-25 season for UP. Apart from his bowling, Nigam is a handy lower-order batter, as evidenced by his 15-ball 39 on IPL debut against Lucknow Super Giants.
Nigam will be expected to keep up the good work on Sunday (April 13), when the Capitals host Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, seeking to earn a fifth straight win this season.
