Nehal Wadhera leaves Punjab, set to play for Himachal Pradesh in 2026-27 domestic season

Punjab batter Nehal Wadhera has switched bases to Himachal Pradesh for the 2026-27 domestic season. On the other hand, Prashant Chopra, who played for Uttarakhand last season, has also returned to his home state, Himachal.

Wadhera didn’t feature consistently for Punjab last season, playing just three first-class games, two 50-over matches, and four T20s. He will be the third player from Punjab to make a shift to Himachal, with Pukhraj Mann and Aryaman Singh already playing for them. Nehal Wadhera made an immediate impact on his first-class debut for Punjab in the 2022-23 season, scoring a century against Gujarat in Valsad. 

He was also a member of Punjab's title-winning Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign in 2023-24. Across formats, the left-hander has featured in 17 first-class matches, 16 List A games and 17 T20 matches.

On the other hand, Chopra had a poor stint with Uttarakhand. He managed 262 runs in seven first-class matches at an average of 23.81, with a highest score of 82. He did not feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and played only three matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 85 runs at a strike rate of 108.97.

Himachal eyeing a better campaign in 2026-27

Although he remains available for selection, it is understood that he has not been included in Himachal Pradesh's pre-season camp, from which the Ranji Trophy squad will be finalised. Ahead of the season, Himachal have also revamped their coaching setup, appointing Vineet Saxena as head coach in place of VRV Singh, while Gagandeep Singh has taken over as the bowling coach.

Himachal Pradesh will be eager to put their disappointing 2025-26 domestic season behind them, having failed to reach the knockout stage in any of the three formats. Their Ranji Trophy campaign was particularly underwhelming, as they finished bottom of their group after losing two of their seven matches and drawing five.