Natrajan __EXCLUSIVE__

T Natarajan: The Rising Star of Indian Cricket

T Natarajan is a name that has been making waves in the cricketing world lately. The left-arm fast bowler from Tamil Nadu has impressed everyone with his skill, accuracy and consistency in all three formats of the game. He became the first Indian cricketer to make his international debut across all three formats on the same tour when he was playing in India's 2020â21 tour of Australia [^2^].

But who is T Natarajan and how did he rise from obscurity to fame Here is a brief overview of his inspiring journey and achievements so far.

Early and Personal Life

Natarajan was born on 4 April 1991 in Chinnappampatti, a village near Salem in Tamil Nadu [^2^]. His father was a weaver working on a powerloom, and his mother runs a fast-food stall. Natarajan is the eldest of five children [^2^] . He had a humble upbringing and faced many hardships in his childhood. He learnt his basics playing tennis ball cricket and developed a knack for bowling yorkers with the tennis ball [^1^].

Natarajan married his schoolmate Pavithra in June 2018 . In November 2020, his wife gave birth to a baby girl, Hanvika .

Career

Natarajan's early promise was spotted by A Jayaprakash, a division cricketer. Natarajan moved to Chennai and started playing for various clubs and teams. He made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2014â15 Ranji Trophy on 5 January 2015 . He made his Twenty20 debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2016â17 Inter State Twenty-20 Tournament on 29 January 2017 . He made his List A debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2018â19 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 20 September 2018 .

Natarajan's breakthrough came in the first season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) in 2016, where he played for Dindigul Dragons and impressed everyone with his pace and variations. He was nicknamed \"Mustafizur Rahman of Tamil Nadu\" for his ability to bowl cutters with the seasoned ball [^1^]. He was picked up by Kings XI Punjab for â 3 crore (equivalent to â 3.6 crore or US$450,000 in 2020) for the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) . He played in six games in his debut IPL season and picked up two wickets [^1^]. He was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for â 40 lakh (equivalent to â 48 lakh or US$60,000 in 2020) in the 2018 IPL auction . He missed the 2017-18 season of Ranji season owing to an elbow injury but came back stronger in the next seasons.

Natarajan's dream run continued in the 2020 IPL, where he played a crucial role for Sunrisers Hyderabad with his death bowling skills. He picked up 16 wickets in as many matches and bowled the most number of yorkers (71) in the tournament [^3^]. His performance earned him a call-up to the Indian team for their tour to Australia as one of four additional bowlers . He was later added to India's T20I squad as a replacement for injured Varun Chakravarthy and then to India's ODI squad as a cover for Navdeep Saini .

Natarajan made his ODI debut for India against Australia on 2 December 2020 at Canberra. He took two wickets for 70 runs in his ten overs and became the first Indian bowler to take a wicket off his first ball in ODIs since Parvinder Awana in 2012 . He made his T20I debut for India against Australia on 4 December 2020 at Canberra. He aa16f39245