Mumbai, May 5 (IANS) Mumbai Indians (MI) bowler Raghu Sharma termed his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) wicket a dream-come-true moment, opening up on his long and emotional journey to the big stage after his side’s six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants at the Wankhede Stadium.

Raghu finished with figures of 4-0-36-1 in a high-scoring encounter where the Mumbai Indians chased down a daunting 229-run target in 18.4 overs, powered by Rohit Sharma (84) and Ryan Rickelton (83), to register a crucial win and keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

For Raghu, however, the night was about a personal milestone as he finally broke through with his first IPL wicket after years of perseverance.

“It’s a dream come true for me that I got a maiden IPL wicket. First of all, I just want to thank my spiritual Gurudev, Shri Shyam Das, and my mother and father for supporting me. I have just come onto this platform,” he said in a video released by IPL on X. I was there that if I’ll take the wicket, I’ll definitely put that out. Just thanks Mumbai Indians because it’s been a painful 15 years for me,” he added.

Raghu also credited the franchise for backing him through his journey, which began far away from professional cricketing pathways.

“I’m very grateful to this franchise that they have supported me, believed in me, and backed me. Now I’m just giving them that confidence that yes, I can also do that for them as well,” he said.

Reflecting on his unconventional path, Raghu shared that he started cricket late and had to overcome several challenges, including fitness concerns and family doubts.

“I started at 21. All age-group cricket was already finished for me, but I was determined. I was around 102 kgs, not that fit, but I worked hard. When I saw Dhoni sir hit that six (in 2011), it gave me the belief that I can also do this,” he revealed.

“My father said you can’t do it because you are not fit enough, cricket is not for you. But I stayed focused and kept working hard,” he added.

Raghu came in as a replacement for Vignesh Puthur in IPL 2025, but didn’t get a chance to play a game in that season. He made his debut on Saturday against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but returned wicketless.

“I just want to say age is not a number. If you prepare yourself for a platform like IPL, you have to be hardworking and mentally very strong. Maturity matters more than skills at this level,” he said.

With his maiden wicket now behind him, Raghu will look to build on the breakthrough and contribute further as the Mumbai Indians aim to turn their season around.

–IANS

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