From sleepy backwaters to IPL limelight

Prasanth Parameswaran may not be fluent in English, but he can surely make the cricket ball talk. The Delhi Daredevils would vouch for it when the Kochi Tuskers' lanky speedster made his IPL debut against them. HT reports.

Prasanth Parameswaran may not be fluent in English, but he can surely make the cricket ball talk. The Delhi Daredevils would vouch for it when the Kochi Tuskers' lanky speedster made his IPL debut against them. "I was surprised to get a chance (in the XI)," says Prasanth, who picked up two wickets in the match on Monday.

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A hammer thrower during his school days in sleepy Alleppey, cricket happened by chance. "I had a good built and used to play tennis ball cricket too," he says. The introduction to the leather ball happened when he was 19. "Luckily, both games and education happened for me," the economics graduate goes on.

Add to it the media adulation. "Yes, my people at home feel good that I'm giving interviews," he says. "They feel I'm someone who can be respected."

And how important is the money? "I come from a poor family, so it is important," says Prasanth, who had been a bank employee for four years now but has "never visited office even once". "What will I do there? I don't even know what to do. I only want to play," he confesses.

The left-arm bowler was picked for a contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders last season, but the deal never materialised. So, how was it facing them on Thursday? "It was a challenge," he says.