Salem cricketer Natarajan makes family proud on his India debut

SALEM: When left-arm pacer T Natarajan made his ODI debut for India in Canberra on Wednesday, there was a flurry of accolades coming his way, recognising his journey from obscurity to stardom. The icing on the cake was Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweet: “So moved by the remarkable ascent of #TNatarajan from a life of hardscrabble rural poverty to his India debut in Australia today. May India always offer hope for all its people & may genuine talent always be recognized & given the chance to rise, in all fields. Thanks to #IPL!”

Family members

of Natarajan soaked in all the adulation as Natarajan finished with a creditable 2-70 and played a significant role in India’s victory. Talking to TOI, his mother T Shantha saidher son made Chinnappampatty, a small village famous. “Everyone is calling to congratulate my son’s achievement,” she said.

Twenty-eight-year-old Natarajan, belonging to a middle-classweaver family,cametothelimelight when Kings Eleven Punjab auctioned him for Rs 3 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2017. He played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2020. Natarajan’s father Thangaraj, 59, is a weaver while his mother Shantha, 58 runs a roadside chicken stall. Eldest among five siblings, Natarajan was passionate about cricket since childhood. Despite the family’s financial constraints his parents encouraged him to pursue sports and he started playing state-level cricket in 2014.. Two years later he was in

Tamil Nadu Premier League

, where his outstanding performance got him an IPL entry.

“Everyone delighted when my brother took the first wicket in the international match,” said Megala, one of his sisters.