'I want to come back as the Natarajan of old'

India left-arm seamer T Natarajan, who missed a substantial chunk of playing time in 2021 because of injury and Covid, aims to bounce back in 2022 as the "Natarajan of the old". Part of that process, Natarajan told ESPNcricinfo recently, involves him working on swinging the white ball more in his opening spells in T20 cricket.

As far as return to competitive cricket is concerned, Natarajan is likely to feature in the second round of the Ranji Trophy where he will turn up for Tamil Nadu later this month. However, before that, Natarajan's first test will come during the 2022 IPL auction, which will take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13. Natarajan is part of set no. 5 comprising specialist fast bowlers.

That Natarajan remains confident he will get a good deal can be gauged from his base price, which the 30-year-old has listed at INR 1 crore. In 2018, at the last IPL mega auction, Natarajan was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 40 lakhs when he was working his way back from an elbow injury. That was a year after Kings XI Punjab, prompted by their then mentor Virender Sehwag, had shelled out INR 3 crore to snap up the then uncapped Natarajan. Since then Natarajan has taken big strides, including playing for India in all three formats on India's tour of Australia in 2020-21.

Natarajan is not fussed about his IPL price as long as he gets back to the field. "I'm not thinking too much about it [the auction]," Natarajan said. "IPL, another T20 World Cup - there are talks about 2022 being a big year - but I just want to focus on my strengths and keep working hard. If I do that, the rest of the things will fall in place. I'm coming back after a long break, so pathatam irukkum [nervousness will be there]. I'll be lying if I say I'm not nervous.

"I've done well in the IPL and for India before, so people will expect strong performances from me. Once I play one or two matches, I will hit my rhythm and will be more clear with my plans. I'm feeling refreshed now and just want to keep doing whatever has worked for me in the past - focusing on my yorkers and cutters. I want to come back as the old Natarajan."

Since his fairy-tale tour of Australia, Natarajan has spent more time on the sidelines than on the field. His knee injury flared up during the first leg of the IPL 2021, cutting his stint short, and then when he was ready to return to action for the UAE leg, he tested positive for Covid-19.

More recently, Natarajan was part of the Tamil Nadu side that successfully defended the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 title, but his body struggled to cope with the match-intensity following those bouts of knee issues and Covid-19. As a result, he missed the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in December.

Natarajan underwent rehab for around five months at the NCA in Bengaluru and later trained in Chennai and his hometown Chinnappampatti, near Salem, where he is currently setting up a new cricket ground. He recalls that the rehab was monotonous but he learnt to embrace it.

"It was boring to start with," Natarajan said. "You will have to keep doing the same things again and again, but you need to do it properly to become fit again. I was in Bangalore for around five months at the NCA. During the weekends, I used to go back home to Salem and spend time with the family.

"Apart from talking to my mentor Jayaprakash anna (brother), I used to call up Washy (Washington Sundar), Rajinikanth (trainer) and Shyam Sundar (Sunrisers Hyderabad physio) during the recovery phase. I had the confidence and motivation from my anna Jayaprakash. He always frees up my mind. Motivational words have always inspired me from childhood. The major learning was that cricket - and life - has both ups and downs and you'll have to learn to accept it."

'Looking to swing the white ball more'
Natarajan used his time away from competitive cricket to fine-tune his skills and bowling action, with help from Sreenath Aravind, the former Karnataka seamer who is now part of the state team's coaching staff.

"I'm looking to swing the new ball more in white-ball cricket; sometimes in the past I haven't got much swing under pressure in big matches," Natarajan said. "I'm looking to have more control over the legcutter and have been in touch with Sreenath Aravind. He's a superb red-ball bowler, through [R] Prasanna (Tamil Nadu assistant coach) I have spoken to him previously too.

"During the last Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament, I wasn't in a good rhythm. I realised something was wrong and I passed my videos to him. He spotted that I was falling over in my action - the loading and landing was unstable - and I have rectified it since. His inputs have been very helpful for me."

Natarajan's protegees part of accelerated auction
That Natarajan will keenly follow this IPL auction is also because two of his protegees G Periyaswamy and V Gowtham will be up for bidding. Periyaswamy, a right-arm seamer with a sling-arm action, has been among the highest wicket-takers in the last two TNPL seasons and was a net bowler for Sunrisers in the second leg of IPL 2021 in the UAE. Gowtham, a left-arm seamer, made his TNPL debut last year and has also bowled at the Chennai Super Kings nets. Gowtham attended trials at Mumbai Indians last month and Periyaswamy at Punjab Kings.

"My dream was always to start an academy in my village, nurture talent and encourage them to play on the big stage," Natarajan said. "I'm very proud and pleased to see their progress. I've opened the bowling with Periyaswamy for Tamil Nadu and he has been very impressive at the TNPL. Gowtham often reminds me of myself. He has a good yorker and will definitely go to the next level in the next couple of years. You never know, they could become my opponents in the IPL in the future (laughs)."