A second IPL fairy tale story (after P. Valthaty, of course). Meet Prashant Parameswaran:
Bagging the prize wicket of Delhi’s star batsmen and captain Virender Sehwag and prolific scorer Venugopal Rao, this 25-year-old left-arm pacer played a pivotal role in Kochi’s win. His rise to fame has been remarkable as he never thought he would be part of the Kochi Tuskers team.
Speaking to Gulf News, S. Ramesh, Director of the Kerala Cricket Academy in Thiruvananthapuram, said: “Parameswaran will rank among the best pacers in South India. He is very promising and will go a long way.”
Born in Thannermukkom, a village in Alapuzzha district, the tall Parameswaran had come to Kochi Tuskers training camp as a net practice bowler.
Kochi coach Geoff Lawson wanted a left-arm pacer to bowl at his batsmen and was impressed by Parameswaran’s bowling.
As I’ve said before, watching small-fame Indian players get a shot at fame — no matter how fleeting — rests among the more palatable attractions of the IPL. Stories like the one above also help answer my previous question — why do domestic players get involved with the IPL?
I think its too early to say he has made it big. Yeah, he did do well, but it has been just one match. Need to watch more of him on different tracks to comment.
Secondly, many have started saying that Valthaty should be picked for WI tour. I feel Valthaty or any other such stars, need to play 2-3 seasons of Ranji and then eventually make it to India prospects. Too early to push him right now.
Mayank, thanks for the comment. In relative terms, P. has made it — that is, he’s gone from a nets bowler, to bowling against international players. Not bad.
I agree with your larger point, though. A good IPL season does not a debut make.