How Mumbai Indians Kerala spinner Vignesh Puthur switched from medium pace to spin, thanks to an imam

Before delving into the depths of Islamic spirituality, Muhammad Shareef C. was immersed in mastering the nuances of cricket. Today, he serves as the imam of Kottakkal Kuzhippuram Darussalam Mosque and a khatib, delivering Friday sermons on the spiritual path for believers. Interestingly, more than a decade ago, when Shareef was a budding cricketer, he discovered a spark of talent in a 10-year-old medium-pacer with an impressive action—five years his junior. That boy was Vignesh Puthur, now a Mumbai Indians player who took three wickets in his IPL debut, against the Chennai Super Kings.

Shareef, 29, has represented the Malappuram district as an under-19 player. “I took cricket quite seriously and wished to play at a good level,” he spoke to THE WEEK. “While I was playing serious cricket, I studied it the copybook style. At that time, just as someone planning to build a house carefully observes every house they see, we often watched many children playing. Most of them would just bowl casually or take wild swings while batting, lacking precision. But then I saw Vignesh, who was around 10 back then, bowling accurately and delivering the ball smoothly, without bending his arm. I thought he was a natural talent.”

Back then, Shareef was a right-arm bowler trying to master leg-spin. “I wasn't very proficient, but I had learnt the basics. So, I only shared the fundamentals with Vignesh,” he recalls. Now a left-arm wrist spinner, Vignesh was introduced as an Impact Player by Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2025 opener against CSK on March 23.

"He's a left-hander, and left-handers naturally have more scope. Even left-arm spin alone has great prospects," says Shareef. "At 10, he lacked the body weight for medium pace, so I told him there was no point in pursuing it—spin would be a much better path." He then took Vignesh to his coach, C.G. Vijayakumar.

Shareef was initially unsure if Vignesh was ready for a stitched ball. "If he got hit, it could be a problem. So, I consulted [Vijayakumar] sir, who told me to bring him along. I went to his house and asked for permission. His family agreed, saying, ‘If he's in your care, let him go,’” he recalls.

Vignesh’s family was highly supportive. "We played together a lot, but since we were in different categories, we were playing in separate teams for the Malappuram district. He was in the U-14 category, while I was in U-19," says Shareef.

During that time, Vignesh’s father, Sunil Kumar, would either drop them off for training, or Vignesh would ride pillion with Shareef—who had a Unicorn bike but no licence.

When he was 18, Shareef had to end his cricketing journey because of personal challenges. And soon, spiritual learning became his path. But he still keeps his love for cricket.

Though Shareef couldn’t watch Vignesh’s IPL debut, he says his heart swelled with happiness and pride upon hearing of his performance, including acknowledgement from former Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni. "I had forgotten many things from 13–14 years ago, but Vignesh remembered them all. He even shared stories about me with others," he says. "I realised how much he remembered when another player, Pradeep, who trains at the gym with Vignesh, told me about it. It was like hearing my own story from them."

Shareef hopes to watch a match where Vignesh is in the playing XI. "I hope that happens soon," he says.