9 Facts about T Natarajan: The new Indian pacer on the blocks

T Natarajan was not a very renowned name in the Indian domestic circuit. However, the young pacer made giant strides to suddenly come in the limelight. Now, the 27-year-old is all set to become a household name after being roped in by an IPL franchise. The 2017 IPL auctions brought some brilliant news for the pacer as he bagged a whopping INR 3 crore deal with Kings XI Punjab.

He had started off with a modest base price of 10 Lakh and ended up getting something 30 times the actual value. While one might wonder they know all about him, there still remains many untold facts about the lad from Tamil Nadu. Here are some of the most exciting facts about T Natarajan – the new Indian pacer on the blocks:

1. Roots and Beginning

T Natarajan or Thangarasu Natarajan was born on 27 May 1991 in Salem, Tamil Nadu. He started playing cricket at an early age in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and soon made steady strides in the domestic circuit.

2. The big launch

While Natarajan continued to play in Tamil Nadu, he was always on the fringes of state debut in First Class cricket. However, the big moment for him arrived in the form of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). He represented the Dindigul Dragons in the inaugural edition of the tournament. He bagged 10 wickets in the 7 matches he played in the tournament.

3. Bowling style

Natarajan is a left arm medium pace bowler with a striking resemblance to Bangladesh’s pace sensation Mustafizur Rahman. No wonder why many people call him as a homegrown Mustafizur for India. His key weapon is a deceptive off cutter. He has a whippy and quick arm action.

4. Choking the state captain

During a TNPL match against the Tuti Patriots, Natarajan was handed the ball in the super over. He bowled 6 yorkers in a row to choke his state captain Abhinav Mukund and former India U19 player Washington Sundar.

5. First-class debut

Prior to his heroics in TNPL, he had made his first-class debut against Bengal at Kolkata in 2014-15 season. He had bagged 3/92 on his debut but soon lost his way in the season.

6. Getting it right in the shorter format

After a successful TNPL, Natarajan made his way to the T20 side for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in January 2017. He made his debut against Karnataka in the Zonal leg of the tournament.

7. Miser operator

One of the highlights of Natarajan’s bowling is his miserly economy and an impressive average. In the TNPL 2016, he bowled with an average of 19.8 and had an economy of 7.33, which is very good for a new ball bowler in the format.

8. Impressive 2016-17 season

In the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, T Natarajan continued his good form with the ball. The pacer bagged 27 wickets in 9 matches and was one of the most successful bowlers for his side. He bowled a match-winning spell for his side against Karnataka in the knockouts of the tournament.

9. IPL Auctions 2017 – Highest bid among uncapped Indians

Natarajan bagged a mammoth 3 crore deal with Kings XI Punjab in the auctions for IPL 2017. He got the highest bid among the uncapped Indian players in the auction pool. He had started at a base price of just INR 10 Lakh. However, he was picked by SRH for 10 Lakh in IPL 2018 Auctions but didn’t feature in any game.