Life was a struggle for Thangarasu Natarajan.

Inspiring Story :-


Growing up in Chinnappampatti, a sleepy village 36 km off Salem, life was a struggle for Thangarasu Natarajan.

His father is a daily wage worker in a saree manufacturing unit while mother sells snacks at a small roadside shop.

Growing up in Chinnappampatti, a sleepy village 36 km off Salem, life was a struggle for Thangarasu Natarajan.

“There was very little money. As the eldest of five siblings, I have a brother and three sisters, there was a lot of responsibility on me,” he said talking to The Hindu here on Thursday.

Today, the 25-year-old Natarajan of sharp speed and the left-armer’s angle, is the brightest pace bowling prospect from Tamil Nadu.

As Tamil Nadu prepares for its Ranji clash against Baroda here from Saturday, much of its bowling hopes will be pinned on Natarajan’s thrust.

Remarkable story


His is already a remarkable story at several levels.

Till he was 20, Natarajan played only with tennis ball, did not represent either school or college in the game, and had not even seen a proper cricket ground.

It was only when he was goaded by a well-wisher from village, A. Jayapraksh, that Natarajan journeyed to Chennai and first played in the TNCA fourth division league representing BSNL in 2010-11.

“It was all new to me. I must thank Jayapraksh anna for his encouragement,” said Natarajan.

He caught attention with his telling yorkers. “I think this is because of my tennis ball cricket background. I strove for air speed because that is one way you could beat the bat with the tennis ball.”

Natarajan quickly climbed the rungs. He played for Vijay in 2012-13 in the first division before moving to Jolly Rovers a year later.

The dream kept getting bigger for Natarajan. He made his Ranji debut against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in 2015.


Suspect action and comeback:-


Then, it collapsed. Natarajan was reported for a suspect action. “It was a shock for me. Until then, nobody had said anything about my action.”

Former State cricketer Sunil Subramanian, he said, played a significant role in modifying his action at the TNCA Academy. Then there were inputs from former Tamil Nadu players D. Vasu and M. Venkataramana, who were part of BCCI’s panel to rectify illegal bowling action.

Mentally, the ordeal must have been devastating for Natarajan but he rose again.


The cricketer said, “There were people who stood by me. At Jolly Rovers, Bharat Reddy anna and Jayakumar sir were always there for me.”

He added, “I have worked on my run-up and loading. It is straighter, more in front now.”

Natarajan, with his new action, was exceptional in the Tamil Nadu Premier League where he struck consistently with his mix of short-pitched deliveries and toe crushers at around 135 kmph.

Back in the Tamil Nadu side, the lanky Natarajan has been working on the delivery that nips back into the right-hander. “L. Balaji anna [Tamil Nadu’s bowling coach] has been guiding me,” he said.

“I am bowling to a good rhythm,” said the man who has come up with four-wicket innings hauls against Railways and Uttar Pradesh this season.

Natarajan is on the fast lane to success. Things are looking up for his family too. His is indeed a heart-warming story.


Kings XI Punjab's mystery seamerKings XI Punjab's mystery Seamer


A few months ago, Thangarasu Natarajan fervently hoped to at least get an opportunity to play in the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL). Things turned out to be much better as Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) signed him up for an eye-catching sum of INR 3 Crores.

To put things to perspective, he fetched the highest sum among all Indian seamers available in the auction.Keeping his expectations quite low, the Tamil Nadu seamer had kept his base price at just INR 10 Lakhs. However, the franchises had done their research and were truly aware of his skills. Even as Kings XI and Rising Pune Supergiants began the bidding, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad joined the fray. Eventually, KXIP sealed the deal at 30 times his base price.

Let us track Natarajan’s early days and his inspirational rise to fame.