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Whether it’s cricket or any other walk of life, everyone loves ‘rag to riches’ stories. There are very few things as fascinating as a story of an underdog overcoming all the hurdles to turn a mere dream into a reality.
Thangarasu Natarajan’s journey from a tennis-ball player in some unknown village of Tamil Nadu to a quality pacer featuring in the most glamorous cricketing league sparks wholesome emotions in the fans.
Natarajan first shot to fame in 2016 when his toe-crushing yorkers troubled even some of the best batsmen in Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). A year that followed marked the ascendancy of the young pacer after Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) shelled out INR 3 crores to acquire him.
Things didn’t pan out as planned for Natarajan at KXIP, and the franchise released him in 2018. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made a smart move and roped in the speedster for just INR 40 lacs.
However, the 29-year-old had to wait for another two years before he made his debut for SRH against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2020.
Natarajan has so far played all matches for Sunrisers this season. Considering his performances, he is likely to get a nod in playing XI above others.
The story behind ‘JP Nattu’ on T Natarajan’s jersey
Natarajan’s most impressive outing came in a match against Delhi Capitals, on Tuesday (September 29), where the pacer impressed one and all with his incredible control and consistency.
Natarajan bowled an economical spell, conceded just 25 runs from his quota of four overs and even picked up a crucial wicket of Marcus Stoinis. Apart from his bowling, one thing that caught everyone’s attention was a name called ‘JP Nattu’ etched on Natarajan’s jersey.
The Tamil Nadu-based tearaway was seen wearing ‘JP Nattu’ on his SRH jersey to honour his bowling coach, who gave Natarajan his first break in professional cricket.
'JP Nattu': 'JP' on his jersey is a show of gratitude to his mentor Jayaprakash who first spotted his talent in tennis ball cricket. #SRHvDC #natarajan #IPL @Natarajan_91 pic.twitter.com/jRS7dcg0J7
— Santhosh Kumar (@giffy6ty) September 29, 2020
