Latest news with #Esakkimuthu
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Tushar Raheja and Esakkimuthu: Tiruppur Tamizhans' twin pillars in TNPL triumph
A Esakkimuthu and Tushar Raheja CHENNAI: Tiruppur Tamizhans' sheer dominance over the past month culminated in their maiden TNPL crown on Sunday. Central to their success were Tushar Raheja and A Esakkimuthu, who shone the brightest in a team that also had other players sparkle. While opener Tushar shattered a record by accumulating 488 runs, the most in a TNPL season, young pacer Esakkimuthu (14 wickets) was the breakout star of the tournament. Tushar looked in magical touch for much of his near-perfect campaign, putting Tamizhans in the box seat with strong powerplay work. The elegant southpaw amassed runs with remarkable consistency (5 half-centuries in 9 innings) and a brilliant strike-rate (185.55) as he constantly proved to be a thorn in rivals' flesh. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai According to Tushar, having a positive mindset and better understanding of his T20 game helped create waves. 'I set the base for myself last season; I found the pattern in terms of my T20 batting. This year, I worked a lot more mentally. I am glad that I was able to produce better results than last season,' Tushar, also named the 'Player of the Tournament', told TOI. 'When you play a T20 match, you cannot quite look at who the bowler is. I always look for runs irrespective of the situation and the bowler. In T20 cricket, there is not much time to give too much respect to a particular name,' said Tushar, who forged a superb opening combination with Amith Sathvik (340 runs). As for the 23-year-old Esakkimuthu, he made heads turn with raw pace in his maiden season. Courtesy his excellent performances in the middle overs, which ensured Tamizhans had a stranglehold on their opponents in most matches, Esakkimuthu deservedly bagged the 'Emerging Bowler of the Season' award. The right-armer put it down to the role clarity provided by the think-tank and captain R Sai Kishore. 'They backed me a lot, trusted me and told me what exactly I had to do. Whenever I made mistakes, I had players like T Natarajan by my side. I just trusted my pace during the tournament, but I have to work on variations,' Esakkimuthu said. What made his run all the more impressive was the ability to bounce back from a nightmarish outing in his second game. Esakkimuthu leaked 25 runs in his final over, including bowling four successive no-balls, against Salem Spartans, who hugely benefitted from it and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. 'After that match, I became stronger mentally. I was even more motivated to perform for the people who backed me in the journey. I wanted to give something back to them. I was told that I would not be dropped and that they expect me to win the following match. Those words gave me a lot of confidence,' Esakkimuthu added.
New Indian Express
14-06-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
TNPL 2025: A Essakimuthu, iDreamer and cricketer
CHENNAI: iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans pacer A Esakkimuthu remembers the first time he held a cricket ball in his hand. It was the U16 selection trials in Tirunelveli and Esakkimuthu, a class tenth student from Kalakudi, a small village tucked away from the hassles of Tirunelveli city, who had watched T Natarajan get picked in the IPL auction the year before, wondering if he could dream of something similar. 'Will it happen to me one day?' he dreamt. He had asked his father, who runs a school van service from the neighbourhood villages to Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai, for a white t-shirt and pants. He borrowed 'bata shoes' from a school-going kid in Kalakudi before going to the trials. He had only played with a 'stumper' ball and had never touched a cricket ball before. In the trials, he somehow hit a few big shots before beating the bat with his pace and got selected. However, considering the financial situation at home and the fact that Esakki was studying well, he could not continue. 'My dad had met with an accident. The situation was not good. Dad and two brothers were all working. In all this, I could not even think of cricket. You need money to play and train. So I understood the situation and didn't go,' he recalls. It lit up a fury of fire within. 'Veri (fire of passion)' is the word he keeps repeating. So much so that when he got a chance to play for Urumu Dhanalakshmi Arts College, Tiruchy, the Bachelor of Social Work student gave his everything. Esakkimuthu impressed an opposition batter, Yuvaraj from Bishop Heber College, who would take him under his wings. Esakkimuthu shifted colleges for his PG (Library Science) and continued to train with Yuvaraj. He was introduced to a senior pacer Senthil Nathan, Veeraraghavan Ramachandran of Alchemy Academy and trainer Michael Anton.
The Hindu
09-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
For Esakkimuthu, first impression is best impression
In a highly competitive environment like professional sport, first impressions are often the best impressions one can leave, and A. Esakkimuthu did just that. The 23-year-old pacer starred under the night sky on debut for IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans against Dindigul Dragons in Sunday's TNPL fixture, scalping four wickets to set-up a crushing nine-wicket win for his side. 'When I started to bowl, I didn't have much idea of what to do. I was playing in front of such a large crowd and under lights for the first time,' said Esakkimuthu after being adjudged the Player of the Match. After conceding 16 runs in his first over, the youngster wasn't sure if he would get a chance again and credited captain R. Sai Kishore for bringing him on again. In his second spell, he returned figures of 3-0-10-4 and turned the game on its head. More impressive was his pace, which was consistently above 130 kph. Sai Kishore added, 'He has pace and is nippy, and can hit the stumps regularly. More than anything, he seems to have a lionheart mentality and is an exciting prospect for us.' What is more astonishing is the fact that the pacer from Tirunelveli hasn't come through the proper system of age-group cricket. It was only when he moved to Tiruchi for college that he enrolled in the Edden Sports and started playing with a cricket ball. His big chance came when he got selected in the TNCA's talent hunt programme conducted in 2023. Esakkimuthu was part of the 30 players who made the final cut and underwent a three-week camp in Tiruppur in 2023 under the guidance of former Tamil Nadu all-rounder S. Mahesh. 'In the beginning, I didn't know what line to bowl. The training there was great. There were many raw bowlers like me. They explained the loads that a fast bowler takes and how one should recover after a game,' he said about how the camp helped him. Though these are early days and there is a lot to learn, Esakkimuthu is up for the challenge. 'I only know how to run in and bowl. I used to love it when I beat the batter for pace. I am just beginning to learn what I should be doing with the ball.'
