An architect became a spinner, a village boy became a 3 crore pacer, how are players from remote areas of the country reaching IPL? – how indian premier league has played big role in tapping raw talent across the country

Ahsan Raza

22 seconds ago

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is now one of the top sports leagues in the world and its success can be attributed to the franchises that constantly keep a close eye on the emerging talent in domestic cricket. Scouts of different IPL teams reach even remote corners of the country to find new players. Now the old method of selection is proving stale. A total of 366 Indian cricketers were auctioned in the two-day IPL mega auction in Jeddah on November 24 and 25, which featured several examples of bizarre, but highly successful selections.

Varun Chakraborty’s story is magical

In the year 2011, Varun Chakraborty gave up his dream of becoming a fast bowler and left cricket and became an architect. Then suddenly four years later, he appeared in a net session as a mystery spinner. There his old friend noticed Varun Chakraborty who by that time had become an IPL scout. He convinced Chakraborty to become a part of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). After two seasons, he surprised everyone by giving him a huge sum of Rs 8 crore 40 lakh to Kings XI Punjab (new name Punjab Kings) in the IPL auction. In the next three years, Varun was representing India in the T20 World Cup.

Take the case of T Natarajan

Till 2016, he used to play some cricket in a village named Chinnappampatti in Salem, Tamil Nadu. There was a struggle to earn two meals a day, but after a year on the basis of TNPL performance, Kings XI Punjab bought him for Rs 3 crore. As of January 2021, Natarajan was one of the many heroes of India’s historic win over Australia at the Gabba. On 24 November, he was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 10.75 crore for the 2025 season.

Journey from Karnal to Gaba

Going back a little further, Navdeep Saini, a resident of Karnal district of Haryana, came to the nets session in Delhi just before the Ranji Trophy in 2013. Former Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Sumit Narwal had called him. Saini had not received any formal coaching till then. He did not even have a good shoe to bowl with, but his talent impressed the current Indian coach Gautam Gambhir so much that he took the surprising decision of giving Saini a Ranji Trophy debut a week later. Saini was also a part of that historic Gabba victory. Where Australia lost the Brisbane fort for the first time.

Amateur cricketer to IPL sensation

How can one forget the story of Akash Madhwal, an engineer from Roorkee and an amateur tennis ball cricketer. When Jasprit Bumrah was not playing IPL in 2022 due to injury, Akash Madhwal became a sensation for Mumbai Indians. Everyone saw the progress of Akash, who has become captain Rohit Sharma’s favorite player in the death overs. Now he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1 crore 20 lakh in the IPL mega auction. Madhwal started his cricketer career by playing for Uttarakhand team in domestic cricket.