Natarajan impressed the cricket fraternity with his fantastic bowling display in the team’s tour of Australia. The pacer delivered the goods when it mattered the most and made a real case for himself as a talented bowler.
Tamil Nadu left-arm pacer Natarajan hogged the limelight in the international circuit when he made his ODI debut against Australia in the third One-Day International at Manuka Oval in Canberra. The fast bowler had a dream debut at the office where he bagged 2 wickets to his credit.
India scripted history by winning the Gabba Test in Brisbane. In the process, India also won the series by 2-1. After the end of the tour, T Natarajan took the flight to India and he arrived in his hometown of Chinnappampatti in Salem on Thursday (January 21).
Natarajan, who reached his hometown while being escorted in a horse-mounted chariot, was attended by hundreds of people who turned up in numbers to see their hero. Natarajan did everyone proud by showcasing his bowling contribution on the field.

Natarajan gets a hero’s welcome at his hometown
In the wake of his debut in ODI format, the pacer made his debut in the shortest format of the game. With subtle bowling variations of good line and length, he unleashed his bowling skills by bowling pin-point yorkers and mounted pressure on the Australian batsmen.
His sensational performance reaped him much-needed rewards as he took 3 wickets to his name. He bowled quite well in the second T20I where he bagged 2 wickets. As far as the third and final game is concerned, he settled for 1 wicket.
Coming to the Border Gavaskar Trophy series, India had two net bowlers short. The Indian team management named four net bowlers but Kamlesh Nagartkoti did not fly with the team and Ishan Porel flew back to India due to a hamstring injury. Washington Sundar and T Natarajan were asked to stay back after the end of the T20I series.
Natarajan could have traveled to India to attend the birth of his child but he did not take the flight to his country. The pacer found himself in an infamous controversy with his name being linked in the paternity leave privilege that Indian captain Kohli availed, but not the Tamil Nadu pacer. Then what happened next to the 29-year-old fast bowler was the stuff of dreams.
Natarajan had a dream debut at The Gabba
India lost experienced pacer Mohammed Shami in the first Test at Adelaide Oval. India also lost the services of Umesh Yadav in the second and Jasprit Bumrah in the third Test, giving a new headache to the Indian team management to select the remaining pacers for the Gabba Test.
Since the Gabba pitch is favorable for the pacers, Team India had to go with 4 pacers. It was when T Natarajan got the nod as he made his Test debut in the fourth and final Test match in Brisbane. The left-arm pacer had a dream debut by bagging 3 wickets.
The Salem-born pacer took crucial wickets in crunch situations of the game. In the process, he created history by becoming the first Indian player to make an international debut across all formats of the same tour.
It was an unforgettable moment for T Natarajan who came a long way to achieve the peaks of success. Even though he is in the starting phase of his international cricket career, he still has a lot of catching up to do achieve great things in his career. T Natarajan is not part of the upcoming home Test series against England as he has been dropped.