The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been providing a big platform to the young players for years. Many youngsters have been able to impress fans, cricket experts as well as selectors of the national cricket team.
Some popular figures like Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja have reached considerable heights in their cricket career by performing well in the cash-rich league.
A similar story is continuing in the ongoing thirteenth season of IPL where names like Devdutt Padikkal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Rahul Tevatia have become the talk of the town. Another name which has been added to this list is of left-arm quick Thangarasu Natarajan.
During the eleventh game of IPL 2020 between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, SRH pacer T Natarajan marked his arrival in grand fashion after he finished with impressive figures of 4-0-25-1.
Legends like Virender Sehwag and Brett Lee were delighted after seeing Natarajan bowling brilliant yorkers in the death overs.
“Excellent execution of yorkers,” said Sehwag while appreciating the bowler.
Delighted for Natarajan. Excellent execution of yorkers at the end. Rashid was sensational as well. Great now that all the teams are off the mark.
The fun continues. Om Tewatia Namah#SRHvDC— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 29, 2020
“That’s how you bowl at the back end of an innings! Outstanding Natarajan,” said Lee.
That’s how you bowl at the back end of an innings ! Outstanding Natarajan
— @BrettLee_58 (@BrettLee_58) September 29, 2020
But who is this Natarajan and what’s his story? Let’s check out the seven interesting facts about the seamer everyone is talking about:
- Natarajan hails from Chinnappampatti, a small village in Salem district which is around 340 km from Chennai.
- The Tamil Nadu fast-bowler has a pretty inspiring story. With zero facilities in the area, the bowler refined his skills by playing tennis ball cricket.
- Natarajan’s mother used to be a daily-wage labourer, while his father worked in a saree manufacturing company. During his family’s time of struggle, the speedster made it to the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) where he performed outstandingly well, and his fortunes changed.
- The Dindigul Dragons first signed up Natarajan in TNPL, and later he moved to Lyca Kovai Kings. He picked up nine wickets in six matches with Dindigul in 2017 at a brilliant economy rate of 5.4.
- During the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, Natarajan picked up 27 wickets in 9 matches and was one of the most successful bowlers for his side.
- In the 2017 IPL auctions, the left-armer became one of the highest uncapped Indian players after he was bought at a whopping INR 3 crore by Kings XI Punjab.
- In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year, Natarajan bagged 13 wickets in 11 matches for Tamil Nadu.
