Natarajan hopes to unearth more talent via his own cricket ground

CHENNAI: After climbing up the ladder quickly, India and Tamil Nadu left-arm pacer Thangarasu Natarajan put the Chinnappampatti village in Salem on the cricket map with awe-inspiring performances towards the end of 2020.

Having achieved exponential growth in a short span of time, Natarajan, who burst onto the international scene following a superlative show for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League 2020, hopes to unearth more talent in the village. The 31-year-old has thus built the Natarajan Cricket Ground, where the existing Natarajan Cricket Academy will function tentatively from March 2023.

“The ground is situated about 40 kilometres away from the city. I want more people to come out (be known) from my village. It should not stop with me. I will be delighted if the youngsters get to play at the level which they deserve to be in,” Natarajan, currently out of action with an injury, told DT Next on Friday.

“I first dreamt about running an academy. Initially, I did not know if I would be able to achieve it. With God’s blessings, we have been able to run it successfully. I then thought about building a ground. At the start, I felt that it was impossible. But, we managed to do that as well, so I am extremely happy,” said Natarajan.

The Natarajan Cricket Ground, which he refers to as his “dream project”, will consist of four centre pitches and two practice tracks. The ground will also have gym facilities, canteen and a mini gallery that can hold about 100 spectators.

“At the venue where we are presently running our academy, we have only matting wickets. In the ground, we will have both matting and turf pitches. I feel that youngsters will get better exposure by playing on turf pitches. Those who are already part of my academy can train at the ground for free. Others can join for a nominal fee,” explained Natarajan. Before signing off, he said: “Cricket has given me a lot, so I am trying to give something back.”