On Monday, in a matter of minutes left-arm seamer Thangarasu Natarajan’s life was changed forever. He was picked by Kings XI Punjab for a mind-boggling Rs. 3 crore — this after entering the field with a base price of just Rs. 10 lakh at the 2017 edition of Indian Premier League Player Auction.
Natarjan’s life has been filled with many hardships. He grew up in a household where his mother ran a street side stall and father worked as a porter at the railway station. One of five children, Natarajan was hooked onto the game of cricket from an early age and first shone at tennis ball games in his native Salem.
In fact, according to a report in The Hindu, till the age of 20, he only played tennis ball cricket. He did not represent either school or college in the game, and had not even seen a proper cricket ground. Things that make his rise to the top ranks of the IPL even more remarkable.
His talent and hard work helped him move to Chennai in 2010-11, where he eventually got an opportunity to play for Jolly Rovers, a club which has fielded big names like R Ashwin and Murali Vijay.
But his big breakthrough came last year when he enjoyed a successful stint for Dindigul Dragons in the inaugural Tamil Nadu Premier League, attracting the attention of the IPL scouts.
“It seems unreal. I never thought I would play in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, let alone the IPL. Very thankful that it has happened,” Natarajan, 20, told PTI on Monday. Natarajan recalled how TNPL gave him the much needed exposure.
“There was a lot of pressure when I was picked to play in TNPL. But I am thankful to people like Ashwin, Vijay and L Balaji (TN bowling coach) who instilled the belief in me that I was good enough at the Ranji Trophy level. It was my dream to Ranji Trophy which has been fulfilled and now I look forward to meeting people in the IPL and learning from them,” he said.
Fine performances in club cricket helped him earn a call-up to the Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy side for the 2015-16 season. He soon got a penchant for landing yorkers at will and received the moniker ‘Mustafizur Rahman of Tamil Nadu.’
At Kings XI, he will play alongside statemate Murali Vijay. Unfortunately, he will not get a chance to play alongside role model Mitchell Johnson, who was picked by Mumbai Indians.
“Johnson is my role model and it will be great if I can meet him during the IPL,” he said.
Besides rising through a humble background, a big on the field challenge Natarajan had to deal with was when he was reported for a suspected action in 2015, which had to be modified under the guidance of former Tamil Nadu spinner Sunil Subramaniam.
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