R Silambarasan: The class 10 topper and TNPL star staring at an IPL deal
Tamil Nadu may have fallen short at the final hurdle in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22 but personally, the feeling inside R Silambarasan wouldn’t be too far short of fulfilment. The pacer, still very early into his domestic career, took 15 wickets from just seven outings in India’s premier List A competition and played a pivotal role in taking TN to another white-ball final.
Silambarasan bagged his haul of 15 wickets while conceding only 4.77 runs an over, including two four-fers. He fell only a scalp short of being TN’s top wicket-taker for the tournament. While obviously disappointed that TN finished runners-up – losing the summit-clash to Himachal Pradesh – Silambarasan would be delighted on a personal level to have been a stand-out bowler for his side.
The pacer comes from a very humble background. Having grown up in a nondescript village of Sendirakillai in Cuddalore. Silambarasan experienced poverty from very early in life. His parents worked as daily wage labourers, which meant following his passion for cricket required overcoming major financial obstacles.
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Thankfully, his education wasn’t compromised. The cricketer was once a class 10 topper before he pursued diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering because of a free seat Puthur. From there on, Silambarasan played league cricket in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and now the senior domestic level for his state.
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R Silambarsan has been on an amazing ascent in Tamil Nadu cricket. (pic courtesy: Twitter)
R Silambarasan’s inspirational tale
But much before that, Silambarasan overcame not just financial hurdles but also social hurdles. Growing up in a village where caste-based differences were big, he could never mingle with some of the other kids, who played cricket together while he could only watch them from the sidelines.
“They never used to include me. I never understood why at that point. And all that I used to do was take a coconut tree branch, get an old rubber ball and hit it as far as I can. I liked hitting the ball, but never found anyone to bowl at me. And I must be the only one who has played cricket alone regularly,” Silambarsan told The New Indian Express in an interview.
“Once I was tired of hitting the ball, I would run in and bowl until I needed a break. Watching that, people in my village thought I had lost it mentally. Looking back, even I laugh at it.”
Despite never really getting sufficient enough meals per day, Silambarasan grew up to be an express quick because of those practise sessions bowling alone in full force. “Nobody in that area used to be as quick as me,” he said. “So they started having fights to include me in their teams. I don’t know how quickly all of it changed.”
Silambarasan hadn’t watched a cricket match live till he was 16. It is only after the then TN chief minister M Karunanidhi distributed television sets that he got the chance to experience cricket matches regularly. This was the point in life when he felt overwhelmed looking at Sri Lanka great Lasith Malinga go about his business and modelled his own action on pacer’s slingy arm-release.
Today when his VJHT performances are reportedly attracting Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, Silambarasan reminisces the biggest turning point in his career. It came when he visited Kancheepuram for a local district match that, fortunately for him, TN’s captain and allrounder Vijay Shankar was attending.
Silambarsan had already played for Cuddalore district but to sustain his livelihood, he had opted for a break and worked as an apprentice. What he needed was an opportunity that would take care of both: his livelihood and his cricketing career.
This is where Shankar played the role of a hero in his inspirational tale and arranged trials for him with India Cements. “They asked me to bowl only three-four balls in the nets and they picked me in their team. That was life-changing for me. From there on, I got the best of facilities to develop my skills and there were good coaches and players to guide me. Once I came here, I never felt like an outsider. It helped me to just focus on cricket,” he said.
Subsequently, league cricket mates helped Silambarasan grow not just as a bowler but also as a more rounded individual, who could complete his bachelor’s degree with the support of his colleagues.
“You need a bachelor’s degree to get a job in these corporate houses, so India Cements helped me get admission at Guru Nanak College. Knowing my struggles Vijay, Baba Aparajith and Baba Indrajith paid my term fees. Malolan Rangarajan, R Prasanna and L Vignesh have also helped with exam fees and other stuff,” said the 28-year-old pacer, who performed consistently in TN’s First Division.
Even the pandemic couldn’t bring about a halt in Silambarasan’s progress as he remained on the lookout for opportunities to flourish and step ahead in the TN circuit. He played a practise match last season but couldn’t make a place in the first XI. But things were different this year as he had a strong TNPL season behind him. The pacer took 9 wickets at 7.10 an over for Siechem Madurai Panthers, which almost broke open the doors for selection in white-ball cricket.
Silambarsan is now looking ahead to the next big day in his life when his name potentially goes under the hammer at the mega auction for IPL 2022.