A boy who did not even knew what leather ball is till the age of 20, a boy who came from such a small remote village that representing a state team was a distant dream. In fact, it’s such a distant dream that no one from his village of Salem represented Tamil Nadu. Yes we are talking about T Natarajan- the 29 yr old proved that no dreams are impossible!
Coming from a village called Chinapoomati (Salem), T.Natarajan travelled 36 kms just to enter the proper city area. Natarajan came from a poor family background. His mother ran a small chicken shop while his father worked in a power loom at a modest salary. Add to it, he is the oldest child from 3 sisters and a small brother. A broken dream, a poor family, two unmarried sisters, no means to access proper education or sports were some of the highlights of his growing up years. In fact, T Natarajan studied in a government school.He shared with SRH journalists in an interview that he did not even have enough money to buy notebooks and pencils.
Amidst all this darkness, Natarajan had a gleaming hope in his brother who supported him a lot. Infact, he considers his brother as his godfather. The keeda of cricket started inside him during 5th grade when he was around 10 years old. Natarajan started playing Tennis Cricket and soon he started enjoying the sport. The life changing moment arrived when he got to play in Chennai through his brother’s friends reference. It was that moment which helped him enter the IV division cricket in Chennai & that’s how the script got started.
Again the script had setbacks and it wasn’t a fairy tale journey. Natarajan soon realized that to play proper cricket, he will require kit, clothes and good shoes. He kept on saving money he earned by playing in local tournaments. He saved money so that he could use it at a right time when its required for him to go elsewhere. Natarajan’s nippy bowling ensured he became a match winner at local level. He would get sponsored shoes in whichever teams he used to play for.
Natarajan remembers sharing “ I would take good care of shoes so they remain in a condition where I can use it for whole year”
Natarajan’s performances in division cricket ensured he got a call up to play in Tamil Nadu Premier League. In TNPL, he showed his accuracy by bowling over 200 dot balls in 40 overs he bowled throughout the tournament. Nataranjan’s TNPL heroics were just the beginning as his performance got noticed by big selectors across the country. In 2015, he was picked up by Kings XI Punjab, a moment he will cherish forever. He was picked up for a higher price more than his base price which got him scared as well as happy. Natarjan did not get enough games to play but his experience with international players and coaches at Kings XI Punjab remained quite memorable.
Getting selected in IPL meant that sooner or later his name would pop up for Ranji Trophy. The dream came true in 2015 as he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Tamil Nadu vs Bengal.
Natarajan further shared to SRH team “The dream was to play Ranji Trophy. However, it’s quite obvious that players who represent Tamil Nadu in all age groups make the cut to the Ranji team. I was the only player who made it to the Ranji Team without playing in any age groups at state level. The whole village erupted in joy after knowing about my selection. I could not give more happiness than this to my family as I became the only player from my Village to play for Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy”
However, Natarajan and struggles go hand in hand, in his very first match he was called for a suspect bowling action. Natarajan did not play for a whole year and it was miserable time for him. To change and tweak the bowling action was the toughest part. Somehow he again made a comeback after one year in TNPL. The comeback Natarajan was a different man. He had vengeance, he had purpose and he had to prove himself. The 2016 season of TNPL knew who Natarajan is. Natarajan not only bowled economic spells but also emerged amongst the highest wicket takers.
Natarajan post his TNPL comeback faced an elbow injury for which he had to undergo a surgery. This happened right before he was about to make a Ranji comeback. Natarajan was unable to play any state level matches that year.
Then came year 2017, Sunrisers Hyderabad reposed faith in him and bought him for 40 lakhs. Even though he did not play for the 1st two years, he rubbed shoulders and bowled alongside the likes of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in the nets which helped him a lot. He also learnt a lot from Muttiah Muralitharan in his 1st year at SRH. The 2 years where Natarajan did not get a single IPL match to play, he completely shifted his focus on performing in Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu. Natarajan bagged around 45+ wickets in 2 seasons of Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu. Infact, Natarajan played all 3 formats in 2019 at state level. That is how he ensured to get a call up in 2020’s playing XI for SRH.
Natarajan believes, the new coaches at SRH are handling the players really well. VVS Laxman is one guy who keeps everyone pumped up, always motivates. The coaches asked him to replicate his TNPL heroics in IPL at Dubai. He kept that thing in mind and that’s how he charted his journey for 2020.
Fast track to 2020 IPL in Dubai, Natarajan played all 16 games this season coming up with 16 wickets at an impressive economy of 8.19. What’s more those numbers don’t define the impact he puts in the death overs. He has been one of the most economical death bowlers this season in IPL and has been consistently delivering yorkers. He has provided crucial breakthroughs and has taken big wickets this season.
When further quipped on how he developed the yorker bowling skills, Natarajan shared “I can practice Yorkers only with a batsman. I cannot practice with a cone or a shoe as a target. I can bowl all 6 yorkers if a batsman is practicing with me. It’s not a big secret, it’s just due to years of playing tennis ball cricket”
Natarajan’s family is not only happy but now he has asked his sisters to study whatever they want and as much as they want. He has promised to take care of everyone’s expenses. Natarajan believes, he could not study well but he wants his sisters get the best education, get married and get settled. Now he loves to takecare of his family financially. When asked on his mantra for success- Natarajan said he believes in setting smaller goals, bigger goals will follow you.
The icing on the cake for Natarajan this season has been the dream call up in India’s T20 side replacing the injured Varun Chakravarthy. Natarajan is 29 yrs old at present and he started pursuing professional cricket at the age of 20. In a span of 9 years he has made it to TNPL, followed by IPL, followed by Ranji Trophy and now the coveted India Team. If we count the duration required for a player to reach India team, it takes minimum 17-25 years to make it into the National team. However, Natarajan is one such player who has taken the shortest duration of professional cricket experience to make it into the National team.
To end things on a good note, Natarajan’s senior team mate David Warner has wished him “All the best, see you in Australia & this time from the opposite side”
Cricket Cult also wishes the same to see the Yorker King deliver some scorching death overs in the hostile wickets of Australia.