Rural anonymity to IPL glory: 5 cricketers who made it

Cricket, often referred to as the gentleman’s game, has conventionally been played by talent residing in and around the bigger cities of India. Many greats including Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh benefitted from the opportunities they got at a nascent stage by being city dwellers. 

However, the story today is quite different. Several youngsters from tiny places on the country’s map have made their mark in the wider arena of domestic cricket and, more significantly, in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Being a part of the T20 league made them an overnight sensation with TV screens beaming their every on-field move into lakhs of homes, joining the likes of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, who has his roots in Ranchi, or even Hardik Pandya, who was born at Choryasi in Surat, Gujarat. Here are five such cricketers who made the trek from rural anonymity to fame and fortune. 

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Shubman Gill 

A right-handed batsman, Shubman Gill began playing cricket in a village that lies barely eight km away from the Pakistan border. This is where his grandfather, Sardar Didar Singh, a farmer, would watch on protectively while the then three-year-old Gill practised his batting. Born in Chak Khere Wala village in Punjab’s Fazilka district, Shubman plays in all the three game formats. Besides playing for India in international cricket, he captains the Gujarat Titans team in the IPL, and plays for Punjab in domestic cricket. 

Ashutosh Sharma 

Ashutosh Sharma, the right-handed batter of the Punjab Kings team, discovered his love for cricket at the age of eight years in his native place, Ratlam, in Madhya Pradesh. But he had to move to Indore to pursue the sport professionally. His IPL debut happened in 2024. Last month, while playing against Mumbai Indians at the Mohali stadium, he created a record by becoming the first Indian player to score more than 100 runs batting at number eight and below at the IPL. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal 

The Rajasthan Royals player, who is known to bat coolly even in the “nervous nineties”, was born in a humble setting in the town of Suriyawan in Uttar Pradesh. He was barely 10 when he moved to Mumbai to chase his cricket dreams and had to take shelter with the owner of a dairy farm for a while during this phase. Eventually, he lost this roof and found himself in the tents of Azad Maidaan in Mumbai, where he even sold pani-puri in his spare time. Though his parents urged him to return to his hometown, Yashasvi refused to do so saying that Azaad Maidaan was a good option as a residence since cricket was played there. Then Jwala Singh, a Mumbai-based coach, identified his talent and began providing him food and shelter. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Shashank Singh 

The Punjab Kings cricketer, who also goes by the name Badshah, hails from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium bowler. In the past, he has been a part of Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals and the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He made history with teammate Ashutosh Sharma after hitting 61 runs from 29 balls against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024, bringing him into focus among Indian Premier League fans. 

Rinku Singh 

Rinku Khanchand Singh is the first player from Aligarh to play the IPL. He came into prominence after playing for the Ranji Trophy in 2018-2019. The left-handed middle-order batter has played for multiple IPL franchises, such as Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders. He belongs to a humble background – his father was an LPG cylinder delivery person while his brother drove an autorickshaw for a living. However, Rinku’s fate was cricket and he even gained admission to Aligarh’s Delhi Public School through the sports quota. 

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The lead image features various famous cricketers hailing from small towns and villages of India, who are playing in The Indian Premier League 2024.