Over the past 20 years, a quiet cricket revolution has been buzzing in the country’s margins.
Players from small towns and rural India are breaking into a space once dominated by metro-based talent. The Indian Premier League played a key role, shifting focus from location to skill. Better scouting, grassroots funding and changing attitudes have made cricket a real option beyond the cities.
T. Natarajan’s journey sums it up. He grew up in poverty in Chinnappampatti, played tennis-ball cricket till 19 and dreamed only of a proper pair of spikes. From the Tamil Nadu Premier League to the ‘holy grail’ of brisk cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) and finally the Indian team, he made his mark in the 2021 Brisbane Test after starting out as a net bowler.
Mohammed Siraj’s journey from Mehdipatnam to the Indian team began with tennis-ball cricket at Charminar Cricket Club. His father drove an autorickshaw and money was tight. There was little formal coaching. Siraj travelled close to thirty kilometres daily to train at better grounds in Hyderabad. A break with former Test cricketer and coach Bharat Arun led to a spot in the Hyderabad senior team, from where he worked his way into India’s pace attack, leading it in tandem with Jaspreet Bumrah.
The rise of players like T Natarajan, Mohammed Siraj and Yashasvi Jaiswal reflects a clear shift in Indian cricket’s demography. It is no longer about privilege. It is about who’s ready. Indian cricket’s rawest talent isn’t coming from academies in metros. It’s coming from the margins. And with popular leagues, increased funding and active scouting, that talent is finally finding its way to the crease.
Uma Chetry: Dream Catcher
Uma Chetry grew up in Kandulimari, a village in Assam where football, not cricket, dominated popular passion.
Her brothers played cricket. So did she. That was only the beginning.
She didn’t set out to be a wicketkeeper either. At a district trial, the position was vacant. Uma’s coach told her to don keeping gloves. She did. The gloves stayed there, clinging to the lines of fortune on her sweaty palms.
At some point, she asked her brother if she should play seriously. His response was blunt. “You said yesterday you want to go to a hostel and today you want to play cricket. Decide what you want to do.” Her answer: “Let’s play cricket. I like playing cricket.” That settled it.
From then on, her life ran on a simple circuit: class, chores and cricket. The ground was eight or nine kilometres away. She would leave at seven in the morning and return home at eight in the evening. “Sometimes I used to return from school and then go to the field. I’d play, come home, help my mother and go back to training. I really wanted to play cricket.”
Between 2011 and 2015, she kept travelling to Guwahati for camps fuelled by her competitive spirit and the desire to play. She was never picked. But a dogged Uma did not give up. Then, while training, someone mentioned Harmanpreet Kaur’s iconic 171-run innings (off 151 balls at the 2017 Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final). She hadn’t heard of anyone scoring that many. “That day I decided, one day I want to play with Harmanpreet. That score gave me belief.”
In July 2024, she was selected to play against South Africa in Chennai. She had already kept wickets in a previous match due to an injury to the team’s first-choice keeper, Richa Ghosh. This was her official debut. It also happened to be M. S. Dhoni’s birthday. She also became the first woman from the Northeast to play for Team India.
“When the team told me I was going to play, I started crying. It was a happy day. And the most important thing was that I received my debut cap from Harmanpreet!” The fan had finally begun rubbing shoulders with her icon.
Her debut series didn’t go well. “I didn’t score runs. My highest score was 12. My keeping was poor. I dropped simple catches. I felt I didn’t deserve this. I thought maybe I should just go home and stop playing.”
Her mother had a different view.
“My mother told me; a season is just one part of the journey. Learn what went wrong and come back with extra bounce. It gave me strength. I realised if we understand our mistakes and work harder, we can achieve what we dream of. It may take time, but it’s possible,” she said.
She was drafted into the Women’s Premier League as an injury replacement for Vrinda Dinesh. Later, with Alyssa Healy also injured, Chetry got a full season behind the stumps for UP Warriorz.
After one game, Healy left her a note: “You’re not standing in for me. You’re standing for yourself.”
Zeeshan Ansari: Spinning his Web
While Uma Chetry was commuting to practice grounds in Assam, Zeeshan Ansari was learning to spin a tennis ball in Lucknow’s nondescript Chaudhary Tola area. At the age of five, his smallish wrist was already making the ball talk and spit, with the comfort and ease of someone much older.
His family, which ran a tailoring business, enrolled him at the local Government Sports Academy in the hope that cricket might offer Zeeshan a different life. His uncle, Gayas Ansari, often padded up at home to face him and later took on his duties at the shop so Zeeshan could train.
The rise of players like T Natarajan, Mohammed Siraj and Yashasvi Jaiswal reflects a shift in Indian cricket’s demography. It is no longer about privilege. It is about who’s ready.
By 15, Zeeshan was playing district-level cricket and featuring in club tournaments. He didn’t make the under-16 state team but moved quickly into the under-19 and under-23 squads. He topped the wicket charts in the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2014-15 and was picked for the India Under-19 squad for the 2016 World Cup.
The years after the World Cup weren’t as straightforward, nor was the road ahead smooth. In fact, it was paved with obstacles. Despite consistent performances in domestic tournaments like the C. K. Nayudu Trophy, a regular place in the Ranji squad didn’t materialise. Between 2017 and 2020, there were few chances.
“That was a tough phase... After the World Cup, we thought our good days had arrived, but it wasn’t so. While his teammates like Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan made it big, Zeeshan was benched often. We were disappointed, but never asked him to quit,” says his father, Naeem.
Coach Gopal Singh puts it simply. “He would be found at the ground the next morning, no matter how tough the day before was. That dedication made the difference.”
Zeeshan kept playing local tournaments. In 2024, he won the Purple Cap in the Uttar Pradesh Premier League with 24 wickets for the Meerut Mavericks, helping them to the title. That season led to calls from several IPL teams. Sunrisers Hyderabad picked him up for INR 40 lakh at the December auction.
He made his mark in the first match, dismissing KL Rahul, Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk. After Adam Zampa was ruled out, Zeeshan became SRH’s lead spinner in the 2025 IPL.
Robin Minz: Gumla’s Power-Hitter Returns
Jharkhand is known for a wealth of mineral resources which are underground and out of sight. But the state which gave India an iron-spined captain in Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is fostering another raw talent.
Robin Minz learnt to bat with cane sticks and pebbles in Gumla, Jharkhand. His father, Francis Minz, worked as a security guard at Ranchi airport and hoped cricket might offer his son a different path.
Robin later joined Sonnet Cricket Club in Ranchi, known for producing talent. His aggressive batting drew attention, but he remained under the radar until Gujarat Titans bought him for INR 3.6 crore in the 2023 IPL auction. He became the first Adivasi cricketer picked in the league.
Soon after the auction, a motorbike accident near his house stalled his career. A superbike enthusiast like Dhoni, Robin was riding a Kawasaki when he collided with another motorcycle. The injuries ruled him out of the 2024 season.
His family found the phase difficult. “We were worried after the accident,” Francis shared. “But we were more upset about the missed opportunity to be on the cricket field than the money lost. For Robin, cricket has always mattered more than any contract.”
Despite the accident, interest in Robin remained in the IPL hierarchy. At the 2024 auction, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians both bid for him. MI secured him for INR 65 lakh. CSK had also opened bidding the previous year—a detail noted by many, including those aware of Francis Minz’s rapport with M. S. Dhoni at Ranchi airport.
Coach Ishaq Haque said Robin took the accident hard. “He held himself responsible for everything. But instead of dwelling on it, we helped him shift that frustration into motivation. He became more determined than ever to return stronger.”
Robin returned to competitive cricket during the 2024 Col. C. K. Nayudu Trophy. In his only match, he scored 77 off 80 balls against Haryana, hitting 10 fours and three sixes.
He later made his first-class debut for Jharkhand while Ishan Kishan was on national duty. He scored 12 and 16 against Chandigarh, and 8 and 39 against Saurashtra. The seemingly modest score of 39 was part of an 84-run partnership with Anukul Roy that helped save the match.
Chanchal Bhattacharya, who once coached Dhoni, now works with Robin. “Robin might be the first from his community to break into mainstream cricket, but he certainly won’t be the last,” he said. “There’s a quiet storm brewing in those regions. Others are coming.”
Harsh Kumar works in the sports media industry
MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
This article appears in 카지노 Magazine’s June 21, 2025 issue, Innings/Outings, which captures a turning point in Indian cricket —from retiring legends to small-town stars reshaping the game’s power map. It appeared in print as 'Cricket For Us By Us.'
