Vignesh Puthur, MI’s gold-find from Malappuram, who had switched off TV when not picked in auction initially

Chennai Super Kings might’ve romped to victory in the final over, but all the chatter post the match revolved around Mumbai Indians’ new find Vignesh Puthur, the leg spinner who bagged the massive wickets of  Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda and Shivam Dubey.
Son of Bindu and Sunil Kumar from Malappuram in Kerala, the 24-year-old had played in the Kerala Premier League, from where he was scouted, but never First Class cricket for the Ranji trophy finals. MI Live, the franchise’s in-house chat show discussed how the scouting had come about, with the panells saying, “The story goes that he had never played First Class cricket, appeared in Kerala premier League and had hoped to land a spot as a net bowler. Vignesh had in fact switched off the TV after he wasn’t picked at the auction initially. Apparently, his friends called him up after he was taken at the accelerated auction.”

MI who always intended to go after him, would find their Malappuram gold who lit up (slightly wannabe titled) El Clasico. “At the MI nets, he had bowled to Hardik Pandya and Lasith Malinga had watched him closely,” the chat show informed.
Mumbai Indians’ scouting is renowned from Season 1 for unearthing gems like Jasprit Bumrah and even fast-tracking Hardik Pandya and Vignesh joins a long l of cricketers who the franchise with its extensive eyes-and-ears network, fish out from oblivion. With Vignesh, they struck 24 carat Malappuram gold.