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India in Australia: Natarajan sparkles the light at the end of India's tunnel

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Let's flashback to the simpler times for a nostalgic dip. The sun shines like a branding iron outside and hence, leisurely bodies find themselves perched into the cosy comforts of the leather sofa. Smartphones haven't yet enslaved our souls and the telephone bill hangs loose on the door knob. Vendors peddle their wares with feverish enthusiasm in the neighbourhood market, their pleas to the hardnosed customers sneaking through the hallway and interrupting cricket's live broadcast. The aroma of piping hot masala chai and zingy samosas engulfs the atmosphere replete. 

Cult figures Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra grace the television screen, each sinew operating in harmony as befuddled batsmen attempt in vain to get a hang of their swinging wizardry. The umpire's crooked finger frequently points to the heavens and the clank of shattered stumps remits a melody to the ears. The two left-armed sons of the soil sing from the same hymn sheet and weave an intoxicating cocktail of magic. India has emerged victorious and pan shops have customarily become a razzmatazz of expert opinions, where the heroics of the pace menace are being discussed at length over a special banarasi wrap. Ah, the good ol' days!

Much water has flown under that bridge. Let alone a couple, the country of 1.4 billion population in which every other kid on the street considers a bat or a ball as his fondest companion has failed to groom even a single specimen of the quality left-arm breed. Given the BCCI's deep pockets and the wide net it casts in the wake of hundreds of domestic matches spread across age groups, it's a mind-boggling mystery which could be slotted alongside the legend of Bermuda Triangle. While Pradeep Sangwan, Barinder Sran, and Aniket Choudhary have remained largely behind the curtains, capped regulars Jaydev Unadkat and Khaleel Ahmed are a long shot from achieving that sapphire status of distinction. However, all's not lost and the light bulb moment seems to have finally arrived in the bloom of Thangarasu Natarajan. 

The wiry left-arm, hailing from a humble background in Salem, struck an immediate chord with the talent scouts during the 2019-20 edition of Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments as Tamil Nadu fumbled at the ultimate hurdles in both. Back then, the most potent string in his bow was the knack to deliver toe-crushing yorkers one after the another, a skill which is hard to master and sustain for the long run. His stellar season for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the recently concluded IPL worth 16 wickets also revolved around his trump card. But the question popped up: could he engineer a top-flight career with the yorker alone? 

In two T20I appearances in Canberra and Sydney, however, Natarajan has demonstrated that he's not a one-trick pony. Not at all. His blockhole yorker that messed with Mitchell Starc's stumps was akin to a blacksmith polishing his chisel, but his zippy shooter that got rid of dangerman Glenn Maxwell offered a sneak peek into his repository. The extra yard or two of raw speed that he generated through an industrious thrust in the delivery stride trapped the well-set dasher plumb in his crease, a breakthrough which helped India snatch a victory from the ominous jaws of defeat. Two days later in Drummoyne Oval, where a ballpark 400 runs were scored over 40 overs, Natarajan varied his length beautifully while sticking to his guns of disguised cutters and picture-perfect yorkers to conjure exemplary returns of 4-0-20-2.

What set apart Natarajan from the rest who went the journey was a clear-cut mental blueprint on what he strived to attain. Addressing a press briefing after India's series win, Hardik Pandya sung praises of the rookie's terrific execution on the night and an uncluttered work ethic in general. "To be honest, I am just so impressed with him. He keeps it simple and I like people who keep it simple, they don't complicate it too much. He is one of those where if you tell him Nattu, you have to go yorker, he goes yorker. If you tell him bowl wide slower balls, he goes and bowls that. He has been actually fantastic. Coming from the place where he has come and the opportunity where he came as a net bowler and got picked into the side - it shows character. Its learning for a lot of people that if you keep things simple in life, it will benefit you in lots of ways and he is an example.", the star all-rounder reflected. 

Natarajan is still wet behind the ears and a steep learning curve awaits his calibre. Albeit, his uber-cool conduct and the X-factor of variety do hold India in good stead as preparations get underway for the next year's T20 World Cup at home. India had extended Khaleel a long rope but snubbed him after his run-leaking spree in New Zealand earlier this year. The dead rubber in Sydney and the forthcoming tour of England will be Natarajan's shots at sealing the left-armer's designation. Zaheer and Nehra would sure hope the youngster passes the test with flying colours.

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He should have been the man of the match; Pandya in awe of Natarajan

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who won the man of the match in teh last game against Australia feels that it should have been the fast bowler T. Natarajan who should have got the honours, as he was more deserving. “I thought he should be the Man of the Match because the bowlers struggled here and he had a really good game. He gave us a target that was about 10 or 15 runs lower than what it would have been. He keeps it simple and I prefer people who don’t complicate things,” Pandya praised teh Tamil Nadu born, who gave away just 20 runs in his four overs and also picked up two wickets. He did that at a time when the rest of the Indian bowlers went for more than 9 runs an over. Talking about his ability to finish games and how he has improved from teh years gone by, the 27-year-old thanked the lockdown, for sanity in his game and life. “During the lockdown, I wanted to focus on finishing games where it matters the most. It doesn’t matter whether I score or don’t score more runs,” said Pandya. “I have been in these situations many times and I learned from my mistakes in the past. My game is always around the confidence which I carry, it has that fine line where I back myself and not become overconfident,” he added. The Baroda born hit two sixes in teh last over of the game when the team required 14 runs to seal the game. Describing what was going on in his mind, Pandya said, “It was not about what they are doing, it was about what I can do. It’s a matter of two big shots and today it came off.”

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Kane Williamson to take paternity leave; coach Gary Stead says 'other things are much more important'

New Zealand’s skipper in Tests and ODIs, Kane Williamson may well miss out from the few games of the series against Pakistan that will be the ongoing series against West Indies, and the team management will not have any problem with him prioritising the family over cricket. Head coach Garry Stead has hinted that Williamson will opt for paternity leave and that the move will be justified as in his words ‘other things are much more important’ than playing the game when the family is in need. The series against Pakistan will comprise three T20Is from December 18 and Two Tests and starting December while Williamson and his partner Sarah Raheem are expecting their first child later this month and this may force the right-hander to miss some of the matches of the series in ‘worst-case scenario.’ Garry Stead said that it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to be around your family at the occasion of the first child and that then the moment will be special for Williamson as well. "Worst case scenario, Kane misses some matches. As a dad, as a parent, you only get that opportunity once in your life to be there for your (first) child's birth and I know that it's important for Kane too. At the end of the day, we play cricket, and other things are much more important. And that is much more important," Stead said after the completion of the first Test against West Indies that the hosts won by a whopping margin of an innings and 134 runs. The discussion around prioritizing family over cricket dominated headlines as the debate ignited on the issue of players opting for personal life over professional and patriotic commitments. Pandemic related travel restrictions and compulsion for players to be in travel bubbles to be able to play cricket. Earlier last month, Indian captain Virat Kohli, too, opted for paternity leave after the scheduled end of the first test between India and Australia as he and his partner Anushka Sharma are expecting their first child back in India and the travel restrictions will mean that the most important batsman of the Indian batting line up will miss out of the remainder of the Test series. The year that has been plagued by pandemic has forced players to weigh options such as their and their families' safety over playing cricket and it has been a serious departure from early days when players kept on playing irrespective of the situations in their families back home.