MI’s Raghu Sharma celebrates with hand-written ‘painful 15 years’ note after first IPL wicket

Mumbai Indians bowler Raghu Sharma shared a heartfelt note with the public after bagging his first wicket in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the game against LSG on Monday. The spinner, who was added to the team’s squad in 2025 as an injury replacement, was retained before the IPL 2026 mini-auction. Sharma made his debut in MI’s previous game against CSK, but managed to take his first wicket in the game against LSG, following which he pulled out a hand-written note out of his pocket to mark the occasion.

Raghu Sharma celebrates with hand-written note

Raghu Sharma caught and bowled debutant Akshat Raghuvanshi to bag his first scalp in the IPL. After the batter’s dismissal, which occurred in the 13th over, the bowler pulled out a note from his pocket, which read, “A very painful 15 years by the divine mercy of Gurudeva ended today. Thanks Mumbai Indians (Blue and Gold) for giving me this opportunity. Ever grateful,” Sharma wrote. He finished with figures of 1/36 in 4 overs,

Raghu’s journey began in 2011. After suffering an injury in between, he began his journey in 2017, where he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Punjab. But opportunities came few and far between. Before the 2021-21 season, he moved to Puducherry. Soon, he made his List A and T20 debut. In 2022, he got the opportunity to play for Galle Cricket Club in Sri Lanka’s premier first-class tournament, the Major League Tournament.

In the summer of 2023, he travelled to England to play club cricket. He represented the Longton 1st XI in the premier division of the North Staffs and South Cheshire League. There, he met South African leg spinner Imran Tahir. After having a long and insightful chat with him, Raghu decided to remodel his action. After returning home, he switched back to Punjab and played alongside the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Arshdeep Singh, to name a few.

Then, in 2025, MI used him as a net bowler. After left-arm wrist spinner Vignesh Puthur was ruled out of the season due to injury, he was announced as his replacement and retained ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

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