Uncapped players T. Natarajan and K. Gowtham bag whooping prices in IPL auction

Like all other years, the IPL auction of 2017 also had many surprises with some unknown commodities bagging whopping prices. We have seen over the years that the biggest life changing bids actually happens with uncapped players and 2017 is no different. T. Natarajan who recently shot to fame with his impressive performances in the Tamil Nadu Premier League bagged a whopping margin of Rs.3 crores from his base price of Rs. 10 lakhs. The left-arm pacer has already been compared to Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman because of their similarities in their styles of bowling.

Nataraj who hails from a pretty humble background while talking to Cricbuzz said if not a cricketer he would have become a collie like his father. His mother sells meat on the streets. Natarajan who hails from a small village in Tamil Nadu is the eldest of the siblings in the family. “I always loved playing cricket. I loved winning those cups, I loved it,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Winnings those cups refers to the trophies the youngster won during his tennis ball cricket days in his village. More often than not his parents wouldn’t get to know about it. He was a skitty customer from his early days but had never thought of earning a living through this sport even in his wildest dreams.

Natarajan was spotted at first by A Jaya Prakash, a 4^th division player from Tamil Nadu and he was so confident about Natarajan’s abilities he took him in his wings and assured his parents that he will take care of him. “I will take care of him completely, and you don’t have to worry about him in any way,” said Jayaprakash to Natarajan’s parents and took him to Chennai.

Also read: Virat Kohli signs 100 Crore endorsement deal with PUMA

“I owe it all to Jayaprakash. He was the only one who showed me a way and kept motivating me,” says Natarajan with gratitude. “He was the first person I spoke to. I haven’t even spoken to my parents yet,” he adds. “I’m just happy right now. Very, very happy,” Natarajan was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

K Gowtham who has performed very well in the domestic circuit after making his debut in the 2012 season finally got his reward after he was bagged by Mumbai Indians for whopping Rs.2 crores. His story though is a little different to Natarajan who shot to fame with performances, especially in T20 cricket.

“The money part is not the criteria. I just wanted a place to showcase my talent. Money, I’m not too concerned. It is a great opportunity for me to learn a lot of things. A lot of players who I can look up to and learn a lot from,” he said. Akash Ambani the owner of Mumbai Indians feels that he can provide the balance in the team with his batting skills lower down the order.

“He’s been in the domestic circuit for a long while. He’s 27 and he can bat a bit as well lower down the order. We can use him as a pinch-hitter as well. More than anything, we were looking for leaders, and he has the personality we were looking for,” team owner Akash Ambani was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Also read: Former Rajasthan Royals player Harmeet Singh detained by Mumbai Police