Cricket, Just Another Odd Job, Paid Off for Humble T Natarajan

T Natarajan poses after the T20 series triumph against Australia with Virat Kohli. 

Image: T Natarajan/Twitter

This is just the story that everyone loves, which is why underdog blockbusters like Rocky Balboa, especially when centred around sports are money spinners. And when the protagonist is a down-to-earth, humble guy, there’s nothing like it.

When Thangarasu Natarajan was first picked in the IPL by Kings XI Punjab in 2017, who shelled out INR 3 crore for the left-arm pacer, his life flipped in a day.

At that time, his father was a daily wage labour at a saree factory while his mother ran a wayside tea stall in Chinnappampatti, a quiet village near Salem in Tamil Nadu.

Just Another Odd Job

While cricket had always been a big interest for Natarajan alongside Vijay blockbusters, he had never really dreamt of becoming a cricketer himself.

In a country of 1.3 billion where every second person has some or the other connection to the sport, it was too much of a risk to put all his eggs in the cricket basket.

Being the eldest of the five siblings, he was the family's breadwinner. Having never played with a cricket ball till 20 years of age, how could one even begin to think of making a profession in a sport where you need to be among the best 25-30 players to stand a chance of selection in the national team and among the top 100 to be in contention for IPL selection.

Necessity proved to be the mother of this invention as well. For Natarajan, who used to wake up early in the morning to distribute newspapers or milk to lend a helping hand to his parents, cricket was another odd job.

He was pulled towards the game due to the prize money that local tennis-ball tournaments offered, with special prizes for the best bowler and batsman. Natarajan could clearly see that there were more suitors for one facet. This was reason enough for him to pick up the ball and bowl as fast as he could. At the time, he concedes, he knew nothing else.

Courtesy of his natural ability and the bigger objective of looking after his family rather than just doing well in tennis-ball matches, he soon became the undisputed tennis-ball hero of his village. A neighbour presented him with a leather ball which he held for the first time in his life.

Armed with a pair of cricket shoes and one contact number, he boarded the train to Chennai to have a shot at the odd job – cricket.

Rising Through the Ranks

In no more than two years, Natarajan found a spot in Jolly Rovers, one of the top-flight teams of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and was then picked among the Ranji Trophy probables in 2015. Natarajan made his Ranji Trophy debut for Tamil Nadu against Bengal and impressed with a three-fer. Against the run, Natarajan's world turned upside down when he was reported for suspect action.

“My teammates comforted me, but I started to look at myself as a cheat. In the tennis-ball tournaments back home, anyone who chucked was called a cheat and wouldn’t be allowed to play. I thought of returning home and helping my parents,” he revealed in an interview.

'Nattu' did lose a season but he came out mentally tougher from the episode. Having shifted base to Sunrise Hyderabad, Natarajan couldn't get a look-in in the playing XI because of their vast bowling riches.

With the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sandeep Sharma, Basil Thampi, Siddharth Kaul and Khaleel Ahmed, SRH were among the best bowling units over the last couple of years in the IPL but that did not deter Natarajan from putting in the hard yards in practice, as ratified by coach VVS Laxman.

With Bhuvi injured and the form of Siddharth Kaul and Basil Thampi having dropped off a cliff, Natarajan was given an opportunity in the opening encounter of SRH in IPL 2020. Naturally, there were a few murmurs around his selection, especially after the newly popped face was a bit expensive to begin with.

Time to Shine

The Hyderabad management continued to show their faith in him and the 29-year-old certainly repaid it as he finished as the second highest wicket-taker for the franchise in the season behind Rashid Khan, the highlight being the toe-crushing yorker to AB de Villiers which left his stumps in a mess.

As the darkness of night is followed by the brightness of dawn, similarly the tough phase in Natarajan's life brought in its wake, some good times. The pacer was initially picked as a net bowler on the India tour of Australia, but as the tour went forward, he turned out to be much more than just that.

Natarajan picked up 16 wickets in the IPL and finished with an economy rate of 8.02(Photo: BCCI/IPL)

The first stroke of luck came his way when mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out of the T20I series due to an injured shoulder. Within days of impressing at the IPL, the India call-up came Natarajan's way.

When it rains, it pours. After a back spasm to Navdeep Saini, Natarajan made his ODI debut in the final game of the three-match series. Although he proved to be a bit expensive with figures of 2/70, he had done enough to impress the Indian management.

With the team looking to manage the workload of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the lead-up to the four-match Test series, Natarajan made his T20I debut just two days after he got his maiden ODI cap, and hasn't looked back.

The Salem-born finished the series as the top wicket-taker with six scalps at an average of 13.83 and a brilliant economy of 6.91, with the best of 3/30. The economy is highlighted further when you have a look at the economy rates of fellow Indian bowlers – Yuzvendra Chahal: 9.75, Shardul Thakur: 10.25, Deepak Chahar: 9.25 and Mohammed Shami: 11.50. Only Washington Sundar with an economy rate of 7.08 comes close.

Shoo-in for T20 World Cup

Team India have been looking for a reliable left-arm pace bowling option for a long time now, as it provides variety to their right-arm heavy pace attack. This is why they tried out an undercooked Barinder Sran and gave Khaleel Ahmed a really long rope.

Apart from his skill of bowling yorkers, what has been the most impressive part about Natarajan is his attitude and approach towards the game. You never saw him celebrating wildly after any of his six wickets in the T20I series – a trait quite similar to India's pace bowling kingpin Jasprit Bumrah. Natarajan says he knows no other way, but when you are a death bowler, you ought to have a calm head on your shoulders.

Another huge positive about the left-armer is that he was initially looked at as a bowler whose stock delivery was to pitch it up in the blockhole precisely. But, through the course of the white-ball games against Australia, he has added several more strings to his bow. He dismissed D’Arcy Short with a well-directed bouncer and has made brilliant use of cutters while varying his line effectively as well.

Going by Virat Kohli's high praise for the medium-pacer, he has gone a long way in sealing his T20 World Cup spot.

"I wish him all the best and I hope he continues to work hard on his game and keeps getting better. Because a left-arm bowler is always an asset for any team and if he can bowl that well and consistently, I think he'll be a great thing for us heading into the World Cup next year."

Looks like the odd job has paid off for Natarajan, and how.