In a sport as competitive as cricket and a world as demanding as ours, it is not common to see a 29-year-old making his debut for the country.
29 is the age when players start looking back at whatever they have done for the nation, with an aim to further improve their performance.
Then enters someone like T Natarajan, who is not just shattering all those notions but doing it with grace that we seldom get to witness.
What a day for Natarajan. What a story. If you are 29, don’t lose hope. Wish him well.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 2, 2020
In what can be easily be declared as the best year for him as a professional cricketer, Tamil Nadu-lad Natarajan is currently riding high on the success of IPL and his dream ODI debut against Australia.
In the Indian Premier League, the left-arm pacer took many important wickets, inspired awe in legends like Kapil Dev, and returned with an enviable tally of 16 wickets in 16 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
This instantly brought him into the limelight and under direct scrutiny of the selectors who were guaging options for the then upcoming tour of Australia.
T Natarajan
— Sarang Bhalerao (@bhaleraosarang) December 4, 2020
2016: Conceded 5 runs in super over v Abhinav Mukund & Washington Sundar in TNPL
2017: IPL debut for KXIP
2020: Impressive for SRH. Picked big wickets of MSD, Kohli, ABD, Russell in IPL. Makes ODI & T20 debut for India
Never stop dreamingpic.twitter.com/1lxBo4p62X
Lo and behold, Natarajan got his call-up. He was named as the replacement for Varun Chakravarthy in the T20Is but got to perform before that because Mohammad Shami was rested in the 3rd and the final; ODI of the series.
That was the only ODI India won.
2020 keeps getting better and better for T Natarajan pic.twitter.com/b2qpGk9iXN
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 4, 2020
From there the team moved on to the T20Is, two of which they won back-to-back, to seal the series. Natarajan took 3 and 2 wickets in those matches, respectively.
He has already been declared ‘the find of the series’ and hopefully only has good things coming his way.
🧢 ODI debut in the last game
— ICC (@ICC) December 4, 2020
🧢 T20I debut today
Take a bow, T Natarajan 👏
Never give up! Dreams do come true 😀 pic.twitter.com/eWTZLA12eS
Debuts don’t come much better, and Natarajan has made a habit of them 🌟https://t.co/RAASlRhwN0 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/NFzr8OLr8w
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 4, 2020
Because it’s long overdue.
Natarajan comes from a humble background, and has had to struggle for most of his life. Of course, now the things seem to be changing but there was a time when his family couldn’t even afford pencils and notebooks for school.
A Truly inspirational story!!🥺
— DHRUV GR8 (@DhruvGR8_2005) December 6, 2020
” T Natarajan ” urf Nattu#AUSvIND #INDvsAUS @Natarajan_91 pic.twitter.com/BW1aWnOKjT
His father – a construction worker – and mother – a road-side snack seller, did their best to raise their 5 kids in a village named Chinnappampatti in Tamil Nadu.
But as you can imagine, it was tough. And as the eldest of the 5 siblings, Natarajan had a huge responsibility on his shoulders.
That didn’t stop him from dreaming, though. he wanted to make it to the national team and for that, did everything in his capacity.
From Chinnappampatti (near Salem) to Intl cricket playing for India, T Natarajan’s journey has been one for the ages.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) December 6, 2020
Poverty, suspect bowling action, elbow surgery, waiting for his chances & seeing failure’s of all hues- didn’t dim his GRIT one bit.
Belief & courage! pic.twitter.com/vXcABfOjTF
He played with tennis balls, kept his head down and just worked.
And it paid off when he got his first call-up for TNCA 4th division cricket. From there on, there was no looking back as he soon went on to make his first-class debut, IPL debut and then Indian debut.
There were a few riders on his way, yes, but he overcame all of them. In 2015, he was reported for suspect action, so Natarajan went back, corrected it, and returned stronger than ever.
Three wickets on a Debut T20I international match. The wickets of Starc, Short, and Maxwell. Dream debut for T. Natarajan. 🔥#INDvsAUS #INDvsAUS #TNatarajan #Jaddu pic.twitter.com/hWwGV67xSk
— Cricket News Page (@PageTrending) December 4, 2020
His biggest professional support, who he also refers to as ‘godfather’, Jayaprakash, saw him through all this, and to honour him, Natarajan wore a jersey bearing the name ‘JP Nattu’ in the IPL.
As the pacer sees new heights with each match that he plays, he has decided to give back to his community and has already started a cricket academy near his village.
This will definitely make things easier for the likes of him and it’s a step that could have only been taken by someone who knows what struggle truly means.
Cricketer Natarajan’s debut tells us that people with talent always get a place in the Indian team. His story from Chinnappampatti to here will surely inspire many other youngsters. May he have more success in his journey! @Natarajan_91 #INDvAUS #TNatarajan #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/xY7rHeKhoo
— Dr C Vijayabaskar (@Vijayabaskarofl) December 2, 2020