'If not for cricket, I would have become a coolie'

For all the big money being bandied about for international players, the biggest life-changers through the IPL auction usually happen to the uncapped players. There have been quite a few over the years and 2017 is no different. The changes though, in the lives of players, can be of different hues. The potential that such fortune and opportunity provides can be tremendous.

Take the case of T Natarajan, who was sold for Rs 3 Crore to KXIP, this year. Natarajan's claim to fame is the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Premier League. The left-arm pacer, who proved to be extremely effective with his cutters is already being compared to Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh because of the similarities in style of play.

Natarajan comes from a humble background where such a sum is the stuff of dreams. "If not for cricket, I would have become a coolie," Natarajan tells Cricbuzz soon after the news of his recent riches came to the fore. His father does similar work while his mother sells meat on the street in the evening. Natarajan is the eldest sibling in the family that hails from a village in the interior districts of Tamil Nadu.

"I always loved playing cricket. I loved winning those cups, I loved it," he says. The cups that he refers to are those won playing 'tennis-ball' tournaments in his village. It goes without saying that these tournaments had to be played without his parents getting to know. A natural at the game, he was quick right from the start but making a living out of cricket, he admits, was something that he hadn't thought of in his wildest dreams.

However, all of that changed when A Jayaprakash, a cricketer playing in Chennai's fourth division, spotted Natarajan's talent. So convinced was Jayaprakash about Natarjan's abilities that he took him under his wings entirely. "I will take care of him completely, and you don't have to worry about him in any way," said Jayaprakash to Natarajan's parents and brought him to Chennai. Natarajan says he likes nothing better than playing cricket all day. He stays in the guest house of his club and his routine, in his words, is "room, practice, room."

From just bowling quick yorkers with the tennis ball, he soon branched out to cutters using the cricket ball once he started playing in the divisions and eventually Tamil Nadu. The breakthrough season was obviously the TNPL after which he was called for trials by as many as five franchises. It was no surprise then that he was eventually picked up after a lot of interest. "I owe it all to Jayaprakash. He was the only one who showed me a way and kept motivating me," says Natarajan with gratitude. "He was the first person I spoke to. I haven't even spoken to my parents yet," he adds. "I'm just happy right now. Very, very happy."

K Gowtham's story is slightly different. Sold for Rs 2 Crore to Mumbai Indians, the off-spinning all-rounder from Karnataka is finally getting his share of the limelight after consistent performances in the domestic circuit. Having made his first-class debut in 2012, Gowtham went through the ups and downs even while playing for Karnataka. The recent season though saw him being picked for India A as well as put him back in the limelight. While the sum that he was bagged for was 20 times his base price, Gowtham remains unfazed about the brouhaha.

"The money part is not the criteria. I just wanted a place to showcase my talent. Money, I'm not too concerned. It is a great opportunity for me to learn a lot of things. Lot of players who I can look up to and learn a lot from," he says.

His selection comes as reward for his showing in domestic cricket as well as the kind of impression he gave out while going out for trials with Mumbai Indians.

"He's been in the domestic circuit for a long while. He's 27 and he can bat a bit as well lower down the order. We can use him as a pinch hitter as well. More than anything, we were looking for leaders, and he has the personality we were looking for," says team owner Akash Ambani.