T. Natarajan – who got his maiden national-call after injured Varun Chakravarthy was ruled out – will be taking the flight to Australia after the IPL Final tomorrow in Dubai. Labelled as ‘Yorker’ Natarajan by ace commentator Harsha Bhogle, the 29-year old could be the X-factor for Virat Kohli’s India in Australia. The left-arm pacer took the world by storm when Kings XI Punjab picked up the rookie for 3 crores.
In two years time, he will be taking the flight to Australia and it is all because of the Indian Premier League which gives talent the opportunity.
Here are lesser-known facts of the left-arm quickie:
Almost Became a Coolie: As reported by Cricbuzz, the pacer had almost become a coolie. His father does similar work while his mother sells meat on the street in the evening. His luck changed when he was picked up by Tamil Nadu Ranji side in 2014.
Tennis-Ball Beginnings: Like most aspiring cricketers, his career also started in the streets where he bowled with the tennis-ball. That is where he believes he picked up the skill of bowling yorkers as batsmen there look to hit every ball.
Spotting Talent & The Transition: It was a Chennai-based cricketer playing fourth-division cricket A Jayaprakash, who spotted Natarajan’s talent. Convinced about Natarajan’s abilities, Jayaprakash took him under his wings entirely and the transition to leather-ball cricket happened. He was then picked up by Dindigul Dragons in the TNPL, where he performed well.
Ball of IPL 2020: The unplayable yorker that got RCB star AB De Villiers bowled is being touted as the best ball of the tournament. It was a perfectly executed 136kmph-ball yorker that did the South African veteran in.
IPL 2020 Show: In the absence of Sunrisers bowling spearhead – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the 29-year-old Natarajan has been one of the finds of the season. He picked up 16 wickets in 16 matches and impressed everyone with his ability to bowl Yorkers at will on a consistent basis.