T Natarajan announces inauguration of Natarajan Cricket Ground in Salem; Dinesh Karthik to be chief guest

Indian cricketer T Natarajan on Saturday, June 10, announced the inauguration of his new cricket academy in Tamil Nadu.

The left-arm fast bowler has played one Test, two One-Day Internationals and four T20 Internationals for the Indian men's national cricket team.

T Natarajan also plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic competitions, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and Ba11sy Trichy in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).

Natarajan took to his Instagram handle to announce that the inauguration of the Natarajan Cricket Ground, based in the village of Chinnappampatti in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, will take place on June 23.

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has been named as the chief guest for the ceremony.

Many administrators from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) are also expected to attend the event. TNCA president Dr. Ashok Sigamani, secretary R.I. Palani and former secretary R.S. Ramaswamy will be among the important guests.

Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) CEO Kasi Viswanathan and Indian film star Yogi Babu will also be present at the opening ceremony.

Natarajan captioned his Instagram post:

"Extremely delighted to announce the opening of my dream-come-true project-Natarajan Cricket Ground. - 23rd June, 2023 - Chinnamppampatti, Salem District."

It was the dream of Natarajan and his mentor Jayaprakash to launch their own cricket academy in their village. G Periyaswamy, V Gowtham and G Aravindh are a few well-known alumnus of Natarajan's academy as they have represented either Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket or played in the TNPL.

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How T Natarajan made accident debut for India across formats?

T Natarajan started with tennis-ball cricket in Salem and made his way to Tamil Nadu's state team in 2015. His breakthrough moment came in IPL 2020 when he picked up 16 wickets for the Sunrisers Hyderabad at an economy rate of 8.02.

The Indian selectors took note of his ability to nail his yorkers during crunch moments and get crucial breakthroughs.

Natarajan was roped in as India's net bowler for the 2020-21 Australia tour but eventually made his debut in all three formats, owing to injuries to some players in that squad.

The left-arm quick claimed six wickets in the T20I series at an economy rate of 6.92. Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was adjudged as Player of the Series, dedicated his POTM award to the debutant. Plagued by injuries, Natarajan hasn't played in the Indian colours ever since that Australian tour.