Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Life has thrown a number of surprises at Kochi Tuskers Kerala pacer Prasanth Parameswaran lately. Mid-April when the 25-year-old walked in at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium as a net bowler for the Kerala franchise before the game against Chennai Super Kings,little did he know that the biggest break of his young cricketing career awaited him. What seemed like a routine afternoon work out for Kerala Ranji Trophy player turned out to his first step towards national recognition.
After impressing Kochi coach Geoff Lawson with his speed and attitude,Parameswaran got an IPL contract and within days he got his first game. Wickets of Delhi Daredevils star batsmen Virender Sehwag and Y Venugopala Rao in his debut game saw him win the Man-of-the-Match award,give his first live interview on national television and,of course,instant fame.
Before the first big high at Kotla,Parameswaran had been a well-known name in the highly-competitive Chennai league. Last year he was picked to the South Zone team after taking 16 wickets in five games for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy Plate division. The promotion to South Zone was the closest Parameswaran has come to being in the company of star cricketers,before Sunday,in his nascent career.
At 25,he has played just six first-class games. His lack of experience can be put down to the fact that he had took up serious cricket quite late in life. He spent a good part of his teenage years pursuing a career in athletics and it was only when he couldn’t shine in the hammer throw did he shift to cricket.
It was at the CMS College in Kottayam that Parameswaran stopped bowling with a tennis ball and picked the hard red cricket ball for the first time. As I was an athlete I had the strength and fast bowling came naturally to me. I picked up wickets at the college level first before being selected to the Kerala Under-22 side. S Sreesanth was also part of that Under-22 side and he has always encouraged me, Parameswaran said.
The excitement in Parameswaran’s voice is hard to miss when he speaks about the day he got spotted by Lawson. I wanted to impress people because all the big players were around. But frankly,initially,I didn’t expect to be picked. I knew that coach Lawson was happy with the way I bowled in the nets. But getting a contract with Kochi Tuskers Kerala was unexpected, Parameswaran added.
According to a Kochi Tuskers official,though the team management was impressed with Parameswaran they weren’t sure how to fit in the Kerala medium-pacer in the bowling line-up which already contained RP Singh,a left-arm pacer.
Kochi used four medium pacers at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday. Two of them have played Tests for India,while the third has featured in two One-day internationals. Parameswaran just 16 months into his first class career,with two for 29 in four overs,did rather well for himself and the team.
