“ If you travel deep inside some 340 +km  from Chennai, you get to see a small village called Chinnappampatti. With barely any transportation available you would only find buses that will take you there. If you happen to visit the place , ask for Natarajan , the whole village loves to talk about their humble chella paiyan, which loosely  translates into  go boy ,” says a local resident .

 And rightly said . Cricket has no limits. It doesn’t have the foggiest idea where and which place you are .  In India , people are so determined  by cricket that each and everyone wants to break into the national  team as if it is super easy and then you will find strict mothers who chase you  for playing the game and breaking the windows. Having said that , nobody believes in you as they do.

 In Tamil Nadu, cricket was never a career option but a pass time . however , with hard work , proper path and determination some do make it . And one of them is  Thangarasu Natarajan .

 Natarajan’s family wasn’t monetarily wealthy. While his dad functioned as a coolie at a railroad station , his mother ran a road side snack stall. being the eldest child  , Natarajan was constantly stressed  about his family , but cricket has been a friend in need for the Natarajan family .

In an interview with Times of India ,the left arm quick recalled his early  days of struggle , “ We didn’t had enough food on the table, it was truly a struggle .”

“ we all studied in a government school and there were no facilities or mentors who could help me with my cricketing ambitions ,”  says Natarajan.

At a time when basic necessities  like food and water were hard to come by  let alone cricket gear , the bowler sharpened his skills  by playing tennis ball cricket .

His fortunes started changing after his breakthrough performances in Tamil Nadu premier league (  TNPL) , first with dindigul dragons and then with lyca kovai kings that caught the attention  of former kings XI Punjab ( now Punjab kings ) coach , Virender Sehwag , and was bought for a Whooping 3 crore,  making  him the highest unpaid Indian uncapped player in the auction .

However , his dream came true when he was selected for the Indian national team , after some stellar performances for the  Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian premier league 2020.

The left arm quick picked up two wickets in his ODI debut and three wickets for 30 runs in his T20 Debut , helping the team win on each occasions . Upon his return from Australia , the Yorker king was taken  on a chariot in his village in Salem district of Tamil Nadu.

Natarajan’s cricketing journey is full of inspiration. It teaches us that with hard work and dedication , anything can be accomplished . We , as Indian cricket fans , wish Natarajan carries his good form for  team India in the foreseeable future and keep on making his fans and his loved ones proud .